Giant Tree Trail Introduction
After the Alishan sacred tree ended its legendary life by natural fall in June 1998, it was replaced by the Alishan Xianglin Sacred Tree and the Giant Tree Trail. Currently, there are two phases of the Giant Tree Trail in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, with the Shenyih Bridge as the boundary. The first phase of the trail begins with the thousand-year-old cypress and is constructed using elevated wooden pathways and spot concrete base ecological methods, ending at the site of the sacred tree. The trail is 600 meters long and features three elevated wooden bridges, allowing visitors to admire 20 red cypress giant trees with a diameter of 5 to 12.1 meters and heights ranging from 25 to 42 meters. Completed in November 1998, visitors walking through it are in awe of the magnificent scenery of “the bigger the tree, the more beautiful it is.” In August 1998, to connect the red cypress giants around the Tree Spirit Tower, the Forestry Bureau set up wooden fences around the Alishan Xianglin Sacred Tree and the thousand-year cypress, as well as constructed viewpoints. Together with the first phase of the Giant Tree Trail, it formed a significant giant tree complex in the recreation area. Starting in 2001, the second phase of the Giant Tree Trail, which is 418 meters long, was opened near the Alishan Sacred Tree site, starting from the Shenyih Bridge. Along this trail, there are 16 red cypress giant trees interspersed, with the number 28 giant tree having a chest height diameter of 4 meters, making it the tallest in the Giant Tree Trail, while the number 2 giant tree is the oldest. Every year, starting in mid-March, the forest around the Giant Tree Trail bursts into bloom with Formosan azaleas, decorating the towering cypress forest. At times, the clouds and mist add to the unique scenery of the Alishan flower season.
