Angkor Zipline

Did you know that you can zipline and canopy walk while you are visiting the temples at Angkor?

Due to a cancelled flight we ended up with an extra day and night in Siem Reap. Feeling a bit templed-out but still wanting to do something we ended up booking a half-day trip out to Angkor Zipline to try something different.

Besides its famous temples, the Angkor Archeological Park is also home to a huge stretch of barely touched jungle and zipping through the trees is an amazing way to see it.

We opted for the Gold Eco-Adventure Canopy Tour which includes a set meal lunch and guided nature tour after the exhilarating zip-lining which we had to skip in order to get to the airport, but we still felt we got our money’s worth.

After being picked up from our hotel, the morning started travelling down a dirt track near Angkor Thom before gearing up and getting a safety briefing.

My friend Mandy and I were lucky to get basically a private zipline tour with two guides, Visot and Noy, along with our photographer Rosath! They were knowledgeable and enthusiastic and made the adventure even more fun. Their grins were as big as ours as we made our way through the treetops.

It was a warm and humid morning – as always in Siem Reap – but whizzing from platform to platform is a great way to make your own breeze.

Some of the platforms were connected not by zip-lines, but by bridges instead. Seriously, you try walking on one of those Indiana Jones-inspired walkways gracefully in your helmet and harness and I’ll buy you a beer.

In total we experienced six single ziplines, two super ziplines, one double zipline - the best for posing with your bestie mid-flight - and an abseil to the ground for the grand finale.

An interesting fact to note is that this is a true eco-experience which you can see up close when you look at the construction of the platforms and how the 800-year-old teak trees support it. Being inside the UNESCO World Heritage zone is something of an achievement and every part of construction is 100 per cent environmentally sustainable with no impact to wildlife, vegetation and fauna. Not a single nail or cord directly touches a tree.

While we didn’t see any on our visit, a family of endangered gibbons have been reintroduced to Angkor park in this area and all reports are that these shy primates are thriving in their new home.

Angkor Zipline also promotes low-impact visitor behaviour and limits each group to a maximum of nine guests. They also demonstrate a sensitivity towards, and appreciation of, local culture and biodiversity by funding English teachers and supplies for over 100 children and monks daily.

Cambodia’s Forestry officials inspect and approve the course every year because to ensure it is safe and protective of the environment.

This was a fun and enjoyable way to spend an unplanned extra day in Siem Reap and I would recommend it if you have time on your next adventure.