Our guide approaches us, his nose seemingly buried in what looks like an instruction manual with the words “trainee instruction book” handlettered on the cover. He is holding it upside down and wearing a big grin.
The upside-down part, at least, seems arguably appropriate; A few minutes later, we’ll have a chance to see him effortlessly riding the ziplines in every position imaginable, head first, feet first, and sideways. But there’s no nonsense about fitting the harnesses, wearing the helmets, and clipping in the caribiners: We’re going to be flying up to 1000 feet through the jungle, and on this fully supervised course, the guides watch our every move.
In Your Bucket Because…
- It’s one of Thailand’s leading zipline courses, with several different courses appropriate for visitors of varying levels of adrenaline-seeking and fitness,
- They make it easy for you to get there and back by providing transportation and lunch, with four daily departure times from Chiang Mai. All you have to do is show up.
- Good for thrill seekers, eco-tourists, and families.
Chiang Mai: Thailand’s Hub for Eco-Adventure
Chiang Mai in northern Thailand has long been a popular destination for adventure travelers, backpackers, and eco-tourists seeking an off-the-beaten track experience. With the recent addition of more than a dozen high-end hotels and resorts to the region, northern Thailand’s combination of jungle mountain scenery, hill-tribe villages, and adventure travel tours now appeals to travelers across the board.
Ziplining is one of the region’s signature activities: It’s a low impact tourist attraction that doesn’t require fossil fuels, offers employment to locals, and channels the tourist dollars into hill-tribe and jungle communities. Income streams include land rentals, employment, and related ventures such as providing food, drinks, and souvenirs; at Jungle Flight, the experience includes a village tour, tree-planting (not that this jungle seems to need it) and an authentic local lunch prepared by village women, which was by far the closest I had to a home-cooked meal on my trip.
Jungle Flight’s Course Features Ziplines, Abseiling, Sky Bridges, and Hiking
Upside down trainee instruction manual notwithstanding, it becomes quickly apparent that our guide knows his way around a zip-line course. This particular one begins with a gentle, short zip to give guests a feel for the ride; this introduction also gives guides a feel for how guests respond and how much help they might need. Jungle Flight’s guides do all the clipping and unclipping of caribiners and pulleys, and ride with guests who may be a little frightened, uncertain, or need extra help braking. After the introductory zip, the rides get longer, higher, and faster, culminating in an exhilarating 300-meter ride over the jungle canopy.
The ziplines not only vary by length and height, but by speed, as well. On the slower lines, no braking is necessary: As the rider reaches the next platform, the angle of the cables slows the approach and you glide smoothly to a stop. But on the faster lines, we use a forked piece of bamboo to pull down on the cable as we near the platform to keep us from smashing into the next tree. The friction slowed us down, and I must say I vastly preferred these home-made bamboo “brakes” to the thick gloves that I’ve used on other zippiness. Some of the ziplines have one cable and guests go one at a time. Others have double cables, which allows guests to zip together, or ride side-by-side with a guide.
For me, the most fun parts of the course were the four abseiling platforms, where a zipliners are lowered from heights of up to 160 feet above. There are also some swinging suspension bridges called “sky bridges,” and a couple of short, stiff uphill hikes, one in the middle of the course, and one at the end. Guests have a choice of full-length or abbreviated courses. The full tour takes about 3 to 4 hours, depending on the group’s size and traffic on the platforms; the shorter tour takes 2 to 3 hours.
Practicalities
- Jungle Flight is located about an hour fro Chiang May.
- The Jungle Flight zipline accommodates groups of up to 10 at a time, with larger groups being staggered. Two guides are assigned to each group.
- Wear comfortable clothing, tie back hair, and wear securely strapped shoes: Flip flips can go flying.
- Jungle Flight will pick you up at your hotel in Chiang Mai and bring you back. The day includes village tour and an authentic home-made lunch.
- It’s luck-of-the-draw, but the earliest departure times tend to be the least crowded; you may even score a private or almost-private tour!
Published in 2012; checked for accuracy in 2020
7 ribs broken & 2 spines damage at “Gibbon” zipline, Chiang Mai
On 2012/07/27, I joined “Flight of the Gibbon” ziplining with my husband and 2 kids. We chose Gibbon is because they showed “Your safety is 100% guaranteed” on the web, even their price is higher.
There were 2 sky rangers and 6 guests in the team. The first ranger flight to another side first. Then, the guest flight there 1 by 1. After all guest reached the platform, the 2nd ranger flight at the end. My husband is the last guest in the team.
⋯⋯
Since the 1st ranger did not control well, my husband cannot reach the other side successfully. He slid back to the middle of zipline. Then, the terrible thing happened. Gibbon’s 2nd ranger came with full speed to crash my husband. This caused him with serious injury of 7…
This comment is not about Jungle Flight. It is about another company in the area. I hate to see Jungle Flight criticized for someone else’s problem. We were there (at Jungle Flight) in January 2010 with our three teen/twenties children. We had a fantastic time even though one member of the family almost backed out because of fear after the first few ziplines. Now she remembers the fun we had and may do it again this year.
Thank you for pointing that out Jim. I too felt that the safety during my time at Jungle Flight was well managed, with guides zipping with clients they felt needed a little extra help. While it’s probably important to realize that accidents CAN happen while ziplining, you are right that the accident described by the commenter happened at a different and unrelated facility.
I went ziplining in Thailand a couple of years ago – it was great fun. I still can’t believe I did it, though.
I am an outdoor education instructor from the UK – have been for the last 15 years – I am qualified to teach many different activities – I went along on Jungle flight with one of our visiting schools programmes to see first hand – and I was not impressed.- on more than one occasion myself and other were not clipped into anything while on the platform – our lives were litterally in the hands of the so called “guide” – the macho showing off of going upside down and various other postions is not the way a professional instructor acts – what if he didnt correct himself in time and cracked his spine on one of the platforms – at the time i went there not one guide carried a first aid kit. The final 40 m abseil was the cherry on the top – at the very bottom the guides then get everyone who…
Thanks for commenting — good to have a professional’s opinion. I too have worked as an outdoor education instructor — including working on a high ropes course — and I had a different experience. While our guides did clown around, I didn’t find them macho at all, just skilled and funny. We were always clipped in. Our guides rode in tandem with some of the less experienced/less athletic/less coordinated/more scared/more overweight guests on almost every zip, and gave us info about what to expect speedwise on each zip. In no instance did anyone approach the landing platforms too fast (on another line in another country, I felt in danger of breaking my knees). But as I’m sure you know, each guide and guest is different, and I appreciate having another perspective.
Any comments on removing helmets underneath the last abseil? dont you see the danger here? And why after this was pointed out why has nothing changed since? I think you were one of the lucky ones who went on a day when all went well –