Discover Majestic Cypress Trees on This Hike ǀ City Escape .

They rise from the mist like forgotten gods, ancient, silent, and alive. Deep in the mountains of northern Taiwan, there is a hidden kingdom where thousand-year-old giants stand watch over the land. This is Lala Shan, home to some of the oldest cypress trees on earth. Through typhoons, earthquakes, and centuries of change, these giants have held the mountain steady for over a thousand years. Ready to meet the old gods? Let's go. Lala Shan National Forest Recreation Area, also called Daguan Shan, sits high in the mountains of Taoyuan's fishing district, between 1,300 and 2,000 meters above sea level. It's not the easiest spot to reach, but the journey ahead is definitely worthwhile. Four-wheel drive, let's go. Bad example, don't put your hand out the window. Lala means beautiful lookout in Nataya, just like his Mandarin name, Daguan. Wow, it's amazing. It's gonna be a good trip. Can you read that? Actually, it's Lera, a beautiful lookout quietly hinting at the magnificent view waiting ahead. After grabbing your ticket, swing by the visitor center to freshen up. They have a super useful and clear map here. There are also shops and a cafe inside the visitor center. Good time to grab some snacks. Once you're on the trail, there's no food or water along the way. There's a little ritual here. Clean the sole of any mud before you go in. It's also a good little calf stretch. Oh, this is good. This is actually really good. So the whole reason to clean the soles of your feet is to get rid of any dirt that doesn't belong to this forest, just in case you might bring in species that don't belong here, that has the chance of ruining the entire forest. Lala Shan holds the largest red cypress forest in Taiwan, making it one of the most oxygen-rich places in the country. And it changes with the seasons. Spring brings cherry blossoms, summer's cool and sweet with honey peaches. Autumn sets the mountains ablaze, and winter, if you're lucky, the whole forest will be blanketed in a cozy covering of snow. People are showing up with children and dressed very casually. That just shows us that this is probably a nice easy stroll. Heat, cold, humidity and moisture, that's everything working together to slowly break down these rocks. You see these rough patches on the side of the trail? That is moss and lichen slowly breaking down the rocks with acids they produce. Bit by bit the rock crumbles and turns into soil. That's how the next generation of life takes root. Feels really, feels powdery. Feels pretty cool. If you look directly above us, it's blue skies, but somehow there's rain. In South Africa we call this a monkey's wedding. I don't know. A monkey's wedding in Zulu is Amshada Wezinkawu. According to a Zulu folk story, monkeys are said to get married when sun and rain appear together, with the lion lazily presiding over the ceremony. Sunshine again. Stretching across the Lalashan forest is Kala Creek. Its name comes from the Etaial word kara, meaning a branch or fork, reflecting a history shaped by change. This place wasn't even on the map before 1973. That means that it escaped the logging period that ran through the whole of Taiwan during the Japanese era, and what's left is an original patch of forest, the kind that once covered the entire island. You can see the layers of the tectonics plates moving in and then pushing them up layer by layer. That's how this entire island was formed. It's really cool. You know what's really cool? If you ever take the airplane out from Taoyuan airport and then you look down, you can see this whole mountain range. It looks like this, but much bigger. You get a very good idea of how the island got pushed up layers and layers at a time. Here we are. Tree number one. Look at the size of this tree. You know what's crazy? This is not even the oldest nor the biggest tree here. This tree is 1075 years old, standing 30 meters tall with the circumference of 10 meters. What's very nice here is that these signs are very friendly, very handy. The English translation is solitude. It gives you the stories of every tree and the information you need and also the distance to the next tree. There's something unmistakable about the Sencha. That clean grounding aroma of the cypress just drifting through the air. It's like the forest natural perfume that's just calming, soothing. Oh man, it's soft. It's like a weird cushiony, spongy, soft mushroom. These boardwalks, they're not just for comfort. They actually help prevent soil erosion and protect the shallow wide spreading roots of the cypress trees. If you look here, you can see these exposed roots and this boardwalk probably protects a lot of them that is underground. Tree number two, 618 years old, standing at 36.5 meters high, 7 meters wide, and it's got four trees fused together. Wow, still huge, but young. Still has a lot to learn. See, he got himself a good stick. I would call that one Lucia. Number three and number four appear side by side only about 10 meters apart. Number three is the younger one at around 326 years old. Number four is close to a thousand with a single trunk, but its shape shifts depending on where you stand. This is an individual tree. That's a big boy. Thick. So once you reach tree number four, the road forks. If you keep heading straight, you can take a shortcut to tree number 22, but today we're not going to be doing that. I'm going to tree number five, up the stairs. The coming section is the steepest part of the trail. Before that, I think I'd better take care of some business first. Luckily, there's a restroom right here. You know what's really nice about this trail? There's plenty of restrooms along the whole way. So easy access, clean water, ready to go. You might not think that's a big deal, but for hikers, finding a restroom can be one of the hardest things on a trail. There's no doubt the 24 giant trees are the stars of this trail, each with its own characteristics. However, there are others without plaques, no names, no numbers, just quiet giants rising beside the trail, adding to the forest's calm, one towering presence at a time. Yeah, this trail, it's hard to explain. It feels different to the previous trails. I can't quite pinpoint what it is. I'll let you know when I figure it out. Okay, I have to stop. Because if I follow you, I smell you. Okay, yeah, very, very slight scent. Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. A slight sense of enoki just breezing through there. Wow, giant tree number five. It stands 39 meters tall with a waistline of 12 meters. And there's a hollow underneath here that's big enough to hide in. A local legend says a Formosa black bear once settled in here, so they call it Big Bear's Den. Giant tree number five was long believed to be 2,800 years old, but DNA testing in 2021 revealed it's actually around 848, formed by at least three merged trees. For many years, people judged the age of the tree by its size. The bigger the tree, meant the older it is. Makes sense, right? But not yet. In these misty forests, trees often grow in clusters, and over centuries, they fuse. Trunks merge together and roots intertwine. So what often looks like one giant tree could be a whole family growing together. Although giant tree number five isn't the oldest, but it's still one of the most striking. Its roots still grip the slope like a fortress. And the true elder of these mountains, that's giant tree number 24. We'll see that one later. Walking on, the forest opens and closes all around, quiet and steady. But here, the trees were never carved into anything. They stand untouched, silent pillars of weathering the centuries on their own. Red cypress is known for its scent and its strength, but true wood connoisseurs, they go for hinoki, the Taiwanese cypress. Tree number nine is the only hinoki among the 24 giants. The mother tree has long fallen, but the second generation still stands. That used to be the mother tree, and that is second gen. Along bridges, the creek, low enough that everyone has to duck to pass. There's even a sign that says, heroes, bow your heads. Wow, they are just incredible to watch. Some are still standing, others have fallen. But even like this, they don't lose their presence. Looking at those massive trunks, flared roots, and it's clear, these trees didn't just grow, they fought to stay here. No drama, just quiet strength. But the story didn't end there. The fallen trunk became a shelter for small animals, a garden for moss and insects, and now a young sapling is growing right out of it, in a true celebration of life. At tree number nine, when I said the mother tree has fallen, but the second generation still stands, I was thinking, I wonder if the mother tree is still here. I believe I just found her. Look at that. I thought it was a rock. No, that's a tree trunk. No way. That's the tree. That's the mother tree, right? It's still there. From the bridge, you can see the headwaters of Kala Creek. Clear water running over clean stones. Right after that, there's a fork. Tired hikers can turn left to head back to the visitor center. Instead, I'll take the stairs to the right for more surprises. From here on, the sacred trees appear almost non-stop. Am I the bear now? I thought I can go to the other side until I realized how big the tree was. Let's get a look. Wow, it's pretty. See quite a run. It's really red. Red cypress. Strong tree. How big are the black bears? They're pretty small for bears, right? Six trees estimated. This is crazy. Massive. How old is this one? 1,195 years old. Feels good to hug it. It's calming. You feel protected. Let's go figure out tree 24. The biggest of the big boys here. Granddaddy 24. This trail is calming, especially when you come across one of these giants. Every one of them. You can't get sick of it. Every time you see it, it's just like, wow. We pass 13, 14, 15, then 16, and suddenly the crouching dragon appears. A fallen giant stretched across the creek like a beast caught midly. Wow. Hengbo Wolong. Look at that. That is crazy. Mushroom is the largest living organism on our planet by far. Do you know how Japanese built their railway? They used mushrooms. There was this fungus. They put like on a petri dish. They put all these grains mimicking all the stations of the railway and they let the mushrooms grow. The mushrooms went and found all the grains for nutrients and then formed a solid line. That solid line is exactly how the Japanese bullet train looks like. That's a true story. I thought you would have known that one, Kurt. Yeah, sometimes I feel a little petrified by my own knowledge too. Oh, tree number 24. This way. Wow. Look at that. Giant tree number 24, aka the guardian of the forest. Around 1,495 years old. Tree number 24 is the oldest confirmed among them. Four trunks fused into one, rising 30.8 meters tall with a circumference of 13.58 meters. In Atayal belief, ancient trees, or bayahong, are seen as living ancestors. Once you realize something's been here for 1,500 years, it makes you somewhat speechless. Not in an intimidating way, but more in a humbling way. I mean, what do you even say to something like this? All you can do is stand here with admiration, respect, and silence. Gotta respect the elders. Makes us realize how short our stories actually are. They're just a little dust particle. Even on our planet. Imagine one day in the future we get to extract DNA of trees and they have a memory. That would be mind-blowing. So you know how some trails, or most trails, leave you sore, sweaty, stiff for days? But this one's different. This one is almost too chilled. It's like a spa for your mind, body, and soul. I guess it's because on this trail, you're not just walking through a forest. It's almost like you're walking through time. And somehow, you didn't even need to break a sweat to time travel a millennium back. Less than four hours on the trail, and if I'm being honest, I didn't really feel it. So maybe I don't really qualify for a reward, but I'm absolutely having that treat anyway. Perfect view with the perfect snack. All right, creamed up. I wish I could show you what I actually got to experience here today, but unfortunately, I can't. Not the air, the cool dampness, but just the sheer size of these giant trees. Even a wide lens wouldn't be able to fit their presence into frame. So I guess that means you have to come here for yourself. I promise, it's totally worth it. So here's to more trails, more discoveries, and the endless stories that mountains of Taiwan hold. Until our next escape, keep exploring and cherishing these moments of freedom and connection with nature. Peace out.