Do you dream of jungle hikes in the lair of the leopard, the elephant, or the mighty gaur*? Yearn for campfires, biking, kayaking, or building bamboo rafts in the Cat Tien National Park? Or how about tranquil moments paddling through a lotus covered lake watching for crocodiles?

 

Ta Lai Experience not only serves up all this adventure (through their aptly named Ta Lai Adventure tours) but does so as part of a truly sustainable partnership with the Ma people, the original kings of the jungle.

 

The challenge for the Ma is to maintain their jungle environment and traditional lifestyle in the face of the demands of modern life. The Ta Lai Experience project enables that by encouraging development that protects the forest. The company also partners with this community to bring their coffee and cashew products to market and ensure the Ma are properly paid for their work. The Ta Lai Experience also has worked to create a range of social enterprises including projects to enhance waste collection and education.

 

This isn’t a charity. It’s a truly sustainable joint venture between Ta Lai Experience and the Ma themselves (as your Ma guides will happily explain to you).   The dances and craftwork of both the local Ma and Tay peoples are showcased in the village of Ta Lai, a Ma village with its traditional longhouse on stilts.

 

 

 

 

Ta Lai Adventure proposes enough adventure activities to exhaust even the most intrepid explorer, but there are also less strenuous pursuits on offer including learning local cooking, yoga, or visiting the animal rescue centre. This is where Ta Lai Experience staff help to rehabilitate sun bears and gibbons for release back into the wild.The Cat Tien National Park and its jungles and lakes are nature at its most glorious. The goal of Ta Lai Experience is to help ensure the park is not some kind of museum, but rather a means for the ancient, local peoples to maintain their own independence along with their traditions and their jungle. The beauty of Ta Lai Adventure is that you get to be part of that, while having the jungle experience of a lifetime.

 

Push Climbing is proud to partner with Ta Lai Experience, the home of the Ta Lai Adventure, the Ta Lai Longhouse, and Ta Lai Kuisine.

 

Those on our team who’ve been there will be more than happy to tell you their very own jungle stories.

 

 

 

 

For Push Climbing we see Ta Lai Experience as a true partner for its love for the outdoors and respect for the people of Vietnam. We can only say thank you for being there at Rocktoberfest, itself a celebration of both.

 

If you want to know more about the Ta Lai Experience and contact them by phone or pay them a visit in person. Visit their website, call 0862 960 137, or you can drop by at the Ta Lai Adventure shop in Tran Ngoc Dien, District 2 (in the Snap Café compound).

 

*Don’t know what a gaur is?  You have to see one to believe they’re real.

 

 

Words by Steve Shipside.