When it comes to forests, people often think of dark and scary scenes. However, contrary to that, there are still many forests in the world that are as beautiful as a fairyland, making you not want to leave once you step into them. Let’s explore to find out which forests they are.
1. Sagano Bamboo Forest, Japan
Sagano Bamboo Forest is located in the northwest of Kyoto, Japan and has attracted many tourists due to the stunning beauty of the thousands of straight and lush green bamboo trees. With an area of about 16 km2, this place is one of the most beautiful natural forests in Japan, not only because of the romantic scenery, but also because of the sounds created by the rustling of the wind blowing through the dense bamboo forest.
These sounds were voted as one of the 100 sounds that need to be preserved in Japan in the 1870s. Tourists can visit this bamboo forest by train, which takes about 30 minutes from Kyoto. With its serene, peaceful and tranquil atmosphere, visitors can easily feel the breath of nature amidst the bustling and modern life, and get lost in the wonderful and magical sounds. The Sagano Bamboo Forest has been voted by Freely magazine as one of the 20 places to visit at least once in a lifetime.
The Sagano Bamboo Forest is not only a popular tourist destination but also a source of bamboo for crafting handmade items such as baskets, bags, chairs, and bowls. However, thanks to its sustainable harvesting policy and reforestation efforts, the forest’s natural beauty has not been significantly affected.
2. Sequoia National Forest, United States
Sequoia National Forest covers an area of 4829 square kilometers and was established in 1890. The forest is located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, United States. It was named after the Giant Sequoia tree, the largest tree species in the world, which has an average height of 98 meters and is so wide that it takes 12 people holding hands to surround its trunk. The Sequoia National Forest also includes a portion of the Kings River, the Kings Canyon granite gorge, the San Joaquin River, and Boyden Cave.
Coming to this famous Sequoia National Forest will have the opportunity to experience long hikes through poetic trails, or explore mysterious old-growth forests. You can camp overnight here to feel the closeness between humans and nature. White waterfalls flowing abundantly will be the place where you can create beautiful photos. Those who want to find more gentle pleasures can bring their fishing gear to the large lakes, where there are plenty of fish for you to “hunt”. In addition, when coming here, tourists also have the opportunity to meet and discover the wild lives of many animals such as wolves, hornets, black bears, bighorn sheep, deer, foxes, cattle, eleven species of woodpeckers, different species of turtles, three species of owls, goats, snakes, weasels, frogs, …
3. Redwood National Forest, United States
Redwood National Forest is a unique, pristine forest located in California, United States. This forest is both a national park and a state park of California. This forest covers an area of approximately 53,412 hectares, entirely located in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. It protects around 45% of the remaining old-growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests with a total area of at least 15,775 hectares. The forest is also home to trees that are over 2,000 years old, with heights reaching up to 115 meters and trunks with diameters up to 8 meters.
The Redwood National Park is also a place that protects many other rare plant species. With its inherent biological value, in 1980, the forest was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The committee recorded 50 prehistoric archaeological sites with a history of up to 4,500 years. It also cites ongoing research in the national park by researchers at Humboldt State University. The national forest is part of a larger natural area along the California coast that was recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve on June 30, 1983. It is monitored by the University of California’s Natural Reserve System.
4. Black Forest, Germany
The Black Forest is located in the southeast of Germany, and is also called Schwarzwald, which was named by the Romans who discovered it. The reason why the forest is called “Black” is because the ancient trees, along with the evergreen trees in the forest, are so numerous that the branches spread so wide that they almost block out the sunlight, making most of the forest always in a gloomy state. When you come to the Black Forest, you can admire the pure beauty of nature, along with the fresh green of trees and grass. The dreamy and gentle beauty of waterfalls and lakes, with smooth rivers flowing through the dark green pine forests, or somewhere in the distance are small houses built in the German architectural style, all seem to create a fairy-tale beauty full of mystery in the forest. When wandering in this vast forest, remember to bring a binoculars so you can observe many species of birds nesting on tree trunks, or herds of deer grazing on grass…”
Summer is the ideal time for tourists to visit the mysterious Black Forest. When summer arrives, golden sunlight penetrates through the forests, shining on the rooftops, streams, and even the forest flowers, creating a colorful natural landscape. Alternatively, if tourists enjoy snow activities, they can visit the Black Forest in winter. When winter arrives, the entire forest is covered in pristine white snow, the lakes are no longer green but turned into a massive block of snow and ice in the middle of a snow-covered forest.
5. Crooked Forest, Poland
Crooked Forest is a hundred-year-old pine forest located in the village of Nowe Czarnowo, in the western part of the Pomerania region in Poland. It is a popular tourist destination due to its unique and fascinating pine trees that have a distinctive shape resembling a crooked, upside-down question mark. The curved root of the pine trees in Poland is considered a bizarre phenomenon and attracts both locals and foreign visitors. Crooked Forest has around 400 pine trees with roots curved at a 90-degree angle to the ground, and all of them are over 80 years old.
Many scientists have come here to study the Crooked Forest in Poland. However, no precise and insightful explanation has been given. This makes the forest even more mysterious and fascinating. Some hypotheses suggest that the trees were bent due to tanks rolling over them during the war. But there are also many theories that suggest that the large snowstorms that occurred here centuries ago accidentally created the curved shape of the pine forest, creating a very interesting feature for this place.
6. Jiuzhaigou Forest, China
Jiuzhaigou Forest, also known as Jiuzhaigou Valley, is located in Namping part of the Sichuan Province in China. The forest covers an area of about 72,000 square kilometers and is over 4,800 meters high, including many diverse ecological lakes and a pure air environment with beautiful feng shui. In 1992, Jiuzhaigou was recognized by UNESCO as one of the world’s natural heritages.
The forest is also famous for over 200 rare and endangered species of animals and plants, including the giant panda of Sichuan, golden monkeys, rare orchids, and azaleas. Jiuzhaigou has a magnificent and pristine beauty that attracts not only domestic but also foreign tourists. During the peak season, Jiuzhaigou welcomes about 10,000 visitors from all over the world every day.
7. Monteverde Forest, Costa Rica
Monteverde forest is likened to a unique green jewel of the beautiful country of Costa Rica. The Monteverde National Forest is considered one of the world’s first and foremost ecological tourist destinations with an incredibly diverse, magical natural world and home to countless rare and wild plant and animal species. This forest is home to more than 2,500 plant species, 100 mammal species, 400 bird species (including the famous Quetzal species), and 120 reptile species, all of which are visited by over 70,000 people each year.
Monteverde is located on a large plateau about 1,066.8 meters above sea level and is the wild conservation area of Costa Rica with six different ecosystems within a 4-hectare area. The lush green color of the mountain forests is complemented by the pure white color of the clouds, creating a romantic and mysterious Monteverde “cloud forest” scenery.
8. Daintree Rainforest, Australia
The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest located on the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia. It is considered the oldest tropical rainforest in the world, having existed continuously for 110 million years, and is regarded as the oldest existing rainforest on Earth. The Daintree Rainforest is also home to large boulders on Thornton Beach known as “cudden” which have a high density due to their volcanic origin. The rainforest is also home to the Daintree River, Bloomfield River, and Mossman River.
The Daintree Rainforest is a refuge for a range of animals, including marsupials, duck-billed platypuses, and large-footed kangaroos. It is also considered the most famous scenic spot in Australia, located about 2 hours north of Cairns. Additionally, the Daintree Rainforest is home to 430 bird species and the largest ancient tree, estimated to be around 600 million years old.
9. Amazon Rainforest, South America
The Amazon Rainforest is known as a vast moist broadleaf forest located in the Amazon basin of South America. This area, also known as Amazonia or the Amazon basin, covers an area of 7 million km2. The Amazon Rainforest covers about 50% of the remaining rainforests on Earth and is considered the largest and most species-rich tropical rainforest in the world. The Amazon Rainforest is home to about 2.5 million species of insects, tens of thousands of species of plants, and about 2,000 species of birds and mammals. To date, there are at least 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 species of fish, 1,294 species of birds, 427 species of mammals, 428 species of amphibians, and 378 species of reptiles, as well as about 20% of the world’s bird species.
The Amazon Rainforest is also considered a world natural conservation area. It is a biosphere reserve for humankind. Therefore, preserving rare animal species and resources, especially biological resources in this area is to protect the existence and development of human life on Earth.
10. Olympic National Forest, United States
Olympic National Forest is a national park located in the state of Washington, in the northwest region of the United States, in an area known as the Olympic Peninsula. The beaches here stretch uninterrupted along various wilderness areas, each one ranging from 16 to 32 kilometers in length. The most popular area for visitors to explore is the 14-kilometer-long Ozette Loop. Starting from Lake Ozette, a trail winds its way through the mystical forests of spruce and across marshy land. The highlight of the national forest is the approximately 60 glaciers that cling to its slopes.
Coming to Olympic National Forest, you can explore several hiking trails along the 3 km-long coastline. Olympic National Forest has become a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and was recognized as a World Heritage Site in 1981. The forest is home to giant conifers of the pine family, such as oak and spruce trees, some of which grow to be the largest in the world, reaching heights of 60-70m. The branches of many trees stretch out for tens of meters, each branch holding up to a ton of wood and covered in moss. The forest also contains the Douglas fir, a coastal evergreen tree that is the second tallest in the world. It has been recorded to live for over 500 years and sometimes over 1,000 years.
What could be better than spending a day walking through forests like this? So don’t miss any opportunity to visit these green paradises!