Alishan National Forest is in Chiayi County. It is a unique climate known as a cloud forest. This means the temperatures are generally cooler in Alishan than in the rest of Taiwan due to the higher altitude. Those cooler temperatures mix with the incredibly high humidity to often create low-level clouds, a lot like fog. This unique weather means you are literally walking through a cloud; that is how it gets its name! I was blown away by the natural beauty of the Alishan National Forest when I visited with my friend over winter break. The most memorable part was walking along the forest paths and being surrounded by incredibly tall Taiwan Red Cypress trees. There are many different types of trees in the area, but I found the Taiwan Red Cypresses to be the most impactful and impressive to me. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I always loved hiking in Olympic National Park and being surrounded by fog, lots of moss, and giant trees. The similarities between Olympic and Alishan made me feel right at home!
The Taiwan Red Cypress is super tall! It has a rusty red color in the bark, hence the name. Because the forest is so dense, the tree branches were mostly far out of my reach so they could reach as much sunlight as possible. They are also the tallest kind of tree in all of East Asia!
