Ratanakiri Smiling Tours

2 DAY GIBBON SPOTTING TREK

This Cambodia adventure is simply an amazing experience for all wildlife lovers. You will get to see the incredibly rare Northern Yellow-Cheeked Gibbons in their natural habitat in the Ratanakiri province of Northeast Cambodia. In partnership with ‘Conservation International’ and the local communities have put together an exclusive one night gibbon spotting trek, the first of its kind in Cambodia. It is a unique experience for enthusiastic wild life spotters and those who are interested in biology and nature conservation. There are not many visitors to visit the site yet, making this an extremely special opportunity indeed.

Gibbon-min
gibbon-viewing

Itinerary

Each tour begins with Evening briefing. At 7pm we will meet at your hotel in Banlung for a trek briefing. It is the first opportunity for everyone to meet the people on their trek and to run over the final details so everyone knows what to expect.

Day 1: Veun Sai-Siem Pang Conservation (-/L/D)

You will be picked up from your hotel at 8.30am and depart from Ban Lung at 8:45am and travel 40 km north straight to Veun Sai town. Once in Veun Sai you have time to buy any last minute items before crossing the river on a local ferry. On the other side we sign in to the conservation area and meet with a member of the Community-based Ecotourism Team then catch moto’s to I Tub village, a Laotian community approximately halfway to the Veun Sai-Siem Pang Conservation Area station. Lunch can be done along the way or at the station.

We will arrive at the gibbon research station at around 12.30pm where you will be introduced to the station chief, scientists, researchers and your gibbon guide as well as shown around the camp. You then have time to relax and make yourself comfortable. At around 3pm, we start walking to the nearby savannah for a spot of different trees and might see tracks and signs of some of the local wildlife such as the claw marks of the sun bear on tree trunks, footprints of deer and other species as well as local birds before sitting down to an early dinner at about 6:45pm. You will then head to early bed to save the energy before rising early as you will need to be awake well before sunrise the next day.

*Overnight in the jungle, you will be staying in Veun Sai-Siem Pang Conservation room.

Day 2: Gibbon Spotting (B/L/-)

Today we rise early at 3:15am because the gibbons wake up with the sun and call to mark their territory as soon as dawn breaks. At 4am, whilst it is still dark we following a small trail to the protected gibbon area about 45 minutes away to make sure that we are there in time to hear their call. We then reach the edge of a grassy savannah and wait for the call of a certain gibbon family, currently the only group that accepts people in their presence. The different groups start to call (sing) at around sunrise with some calls carrying up to 2km. Once the habituated groups of gibbons starts to sing, the gibbon guide will try to locate them in the forest as fast as possible and he will guide us to the spot so we can watch them as they go about their morning activities in the tree canopy. In some cases they let you come very close – less than 15 meters – which provides an excellent opportunity to take pictures. This is a special time as the gibbons can travel quickly in the trees and leave in a split second, anytime they want. Once they do, it can be very difficult for us to find them again, however the group can often be followed for a couple of hours throughout the forest.

After the gibbon spotting we head back to the station for lunch at about 10am. We then pack up and get ready to leave. We get back on our moto’s and follow a different path through the jungle and head back to I Tub village and then onwards to Veun Sai town, cross the Sesan River by a small ferry. Our journey has now come to an end and we travel back to Ban Lung arriving at approximately 3pm.

Important Note: This itinerary is written based on our tour research expeditions. It should be read in order to get a good general impression and NOT as a detailed hour by hour itinerary. However changes may occur without prior notice. This is due to various seasonal changes and the personality of the guide that will be escorting you on the trek.

Additional Information

Trip Includes:

A local English-speaking, ranger expert tracker, transport by motor bike (2 persons), private 4WDR/minivan (3 persons and up), boat trip and transfers as mentioned, drinking water, Veun Sai-Siem Pang Conservation entrance fee, all meals during the trek, trek equipment.

Trip Does Not Include:

Your accommodation in town, additional food and drink, any personal expenses, personal travel insurance, tips for guides & driver, any other items not mentioned.

Price:

$165-$235 per Person

Minimum of 2 persons. Booking for a greater number of people (ie. 5 people) you will receive a discount rate if compare to booking for 2 people. Therefore, during the tour if there are more people than when you booked, you will still get a discount rate. Please refer to the Trip Notes for details of what is included in the cost.


*Families with children please ask for a special price.