Flight of the Gibbon in Chiang Mai: Its Forest Story and What to Plan Now
Flight of the Gibbon brought visitors into the treetops above Mae Kampong, a tea-growing village in the mountains east of Chiang Mai. Its guided course combined long cable crossings, suspended bridges, forest walks and descents from elevated platforms. The attraction became closely associated with the village’s forest setting and a gibbon rehabilitation programme.
The Chiang Mai attraction is now listed as permanently closed on Google Maps and Tripadvisor. Leave it out of a current ziplining itinerary. For a canopy adventure, Jungle Flight offers bookable programmes with city transfers. For the village, streams and tea-growing landscape, visit Mae Kampong as a separate outing.
The closure listing concerns the Mae Kampong operation in Huai Kaeo, Mae On district. The former operator website redirects to an unrelated gambling website. Do not use that old domain to book an adventure or provide payment details.
What made the original experience distinctive
This was a guided journey through a forest canopy. Visitors fitted with harnesses and helmets moved between trees, with guides managing the cable connections. Short crossings introduced the movement before longer runs, including an 800-metre line. Bridges, walking sections and abseiling changed the pace and perspective: the experience moved between the forest floor and elevated platforms instead of following a single continuous cable.
The wooded setting mattered as much as the equipment. Historical packages combined several hours on the course with a Thai meal, transport from Chiang Mai and, in some programmes, a waterfall visit. This explains why accounts describe a substantial excursion even when the ziplining itself occupied only part of the day. The village approach, forest walk and meal were part of the original trip’s appeal.
The gibbons behind the name
A 2011 account published by Sanook described the operator’s rehabilitation work with a rescued pair of gibbons, local carers and veterinary assistance from Chiang Mai Zoo. Their offspring, Thong Kham, featured in that account. Later visitor reporting described seeing the family in the trees along a diversion from the course.
The project connected the attraction’s name to animals living in the surrounding forest. It also gave visitors a reason to pay attention to the canopy beyond the cables. The rehabilitation and tree-planting work formed part of the company’s conservation story, alongside employment of village residents as forest guards and guides.
The safety incidents are part of its history
In December 2016, the company announced a temporary suspension following a collision involving visitors. On 13 April 2019, a Canadian visitor died after falling during an activity at the Mae Kampong site. Thai PBS reported the local authority’s subsequent closure order and the investigation into the equipment.
A July 2019 update in The Thaiger carried management’s statement that operations had resumed that June.
Choosing a canopy adventure now
Jungle Flight is a separate operator. Its JF1 programme costs 2,400 baht per person, with 19 ziplines, an 800-metre longest crossing, bridges, walks, stairs and an abseil. The programme’s eligibility is ages 8–70, weighing 20–120 kg.
JF2, at 2,800 baht, adds a 1.1-kilometre rollercoaster zipline and has narrower eligibility: 15–60 years, 20–120 kg. Both include equipment, guides, a Thai buffet, fruit, drinks and return transfers within Chiang Mai city. Pickup windows are 8–8.30am, 9.30–10am, 11–11.30am and 12.30–1pm; reserve the selected programme and hotel pickup directly through those pages.
Allow a generous half-day for travel, preparation, the course and meal. The route involves stairs and elevated bridges. Closed-toe shoes are required; pregnancy, serious medical conditions and recent major injuries can exclude participation. Read the operator’s participation conditions before paying. Light rain may allow operation, but lightning or strong winds can stop it. Individual medical suitability should be discussed with the operator before booking.
Mae Kampong’s story continues beyond the zipline
The village developed around tea gardens long before adventure tourism. Settlers from Doi Saket came to cultivate leaves for miang, the fermented tea traditionally chewed in northern Thailand. Houses clustered near the stream, while the surrounding slopes provided the agricultural setting. Community-based tourism and homestays began in 2000, creating another source of income from the landscape and local life.
Coffee is another part of that economic change. The Teen Tok Royal Project centre was established in 1981 with royal funding to introduce shiitake cultivation and Arabica coffee alongside the existing tea livelihood. Its work promotes shade-grown coffee among larger trees and other crops, linking farm income with soil, water and forest conservation. A village coffee stop consequently belongs to a much longer agricultural story than its café frontage suggests.
For an outing without ziplining, make the village itself the destination: walk the stream-side streets, visit Wat Khantha Phueksa and stop for northern food or locally grown coffee. The temple’s carved teak hall and waterside ordination building give the walk a cultural focus beyond the cafés. The Mae Kampong village guide explains the settlement and its individual stops.
Plan a full day from Chiang Mai if you want an unhurried village visit. A prearranged car with driver gives you a return journey and flexibility on the steep, narrow final approach. Her Chiang Mai offers a flexible Mae Kampong day hire at 2,490 baht per vehicle for one to three guests, including driver, fuel, normal parking and city-hotel pickup and return; food and attraction charges are extra. Reservations are available through its Mae Kampong service page.