5 Intriguingly Ethereal Forests In The World

A forest is much more than a collection of trees. Our forests are also nature’s air filters. A breezy walk in the cool green forests at any time of the year inspires imagination and stirs the senses. Let's explore some of the most interesting forests in the world.

Crooked Forest - Poland

This grove of oddly-shaped pine trees just outside Nowe Czarnowo, West Pomerania, is a man-made wonder, but nobody is quite certain how or why. Some believe that some sort of tool or technique was used when they were planted in the 1930s so that they could be used in ship building. Others speculate that the young saplings were crushed by tanks during the Second World War and that’s what made them grow this way. Whatever the reason, the result is one of the strangest forests you are ever likely to see.

Sagano Bamboo Forest - Japan

A short train ride from Kyoto, this magnificent bamboo towering forest in the district of Arashiyama has become a must-visit destination for locals and tourists alike. Visually, the forest is stunning. But stop for a moment and listen to the wind rustling through the creaking bamboo. That sound has been declared one of the"100 Soundscapes of Japan" by the Japanese government, a selection of everyday noises intended to encourage locals to stop and enjoy nature's music.

Great Bear Rainforest - British Columbia, Canada

The last large expanse of coastal temperate rain forest on the planet, the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia is a vast land of ancient cedars, mossy waterfalls and ‘Spirit Bears’, the rare, cream-colored Kermode bear considered sacred by the local T'simshian people. Roughly the size of Ireland, the forest is also home to coastal gray wolves, grizzly bears, Sitka deer, cougars, mountain goats, orca, salmon, sea lions, sea otters and humpback whales. It is ethereal and magical and teeming with wildlife.

Mossy Forest - Malaysia

Carnivorous pitcher plants and delicate orchids stand out amongst the spongy green moss covering the trees in this high-elevation cloud forest. The winding approach takes tourists through crowded hill station towns and rolling green tea fields before ascending into the misty mountaintops of mainland Malaysia. Don’t miss a climb to the viewpoint at the summit of Gunung Brinchang. And bring your boots -- your footsteps in the moss will fill with water as you take each step.

The Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon River Basin is home to the largest rainforest on Earth. The basin -- roughly the size of the forty-eight contiguous United States -- covers some 40 percent of the South American continent and includes parts of eight South American countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname, as well as French Guiana, a department of France. Reflecting environmental conditions as well as past human influence, the Amazon is made up of a mosaic of ecosystems and vegetation types including rainforests, seasonal forests, deciduous forests, flooded forests, and savannas.

Forests really pave the way for your inner spirit animal to show itself and pour out of you to let itself free into the wilderness. Thereby, we must always treasure this gift from God, the forests that have been in our lives and enriched them.