The trail between giant trees 14~19 is not open to public yet.
Time is the greatest sculptor. At the giant trees of Lala Mountain Scenic Area, you only need to look up to appreciate the greatness in what time has achieved over thousands of years. Lala Mountain Giant Trees are located at the junction of Fuxing District of Taoyuan and Wulai District of New Taipei City. At the altitude of 1,500 to 2,130m, all the trees are aged 500 to 1,495 years. It is a giant tree conservation zone comparable to Alishan. Visitors can follow the circular trail to see all the giant trees close-up. In the conservation zone, only giant tree no. 9 is Taiwan cypress. The rest are Taiwan red cypress.
Walk on the gravel road for about 700m from the Lala Mountain Ecology Center parking lot, you will see the 1400-year-old, 41m-tall giant tree No. 1. With a circumference of 9.8m, it takes 5 adult hand-in-hand to wrap around it. Its greatness standing the test of time is also achieved by time. After the first greet-and-meet, you will look forward to the next encounter. Continuing on the trail, you will see giant trees No. 2 and No. 3 standing tall on a slope with great strength and beauty. Next to giant tree No. 4 there is some space for you to take a break next to the flowing creek water and birds singing to recover from the exhaustion from hiking. After the break, turn right and take the stairs up to visit the trees in order. If you turn left here and go to the end of the path, you will reach the giant tree No. 5, with a natural tree hole at the bottom. Standing in front of a 1,495-year-old tree will surely humble you.
As the shades of the giant trees block the sunlight, it is cool in the mountains. Continue on to No. 9 “mother and son” trees, the rare Taiwan cypresses. The first generation (mother) tree has died while the second generation (son) tree continues to thrive in this primary forest and is now 440 years old. The trail goes downward from here on. Giant tree No. 18 near Daguan Pavilion is two connected thousand-year-old trees. With a circumference of 19.2m, it is the largest giant tree in the area. Lala Mountain Conservation Area has rich forestry as well as more than 60 species of birds and other rare species including the Formosan serow, Reeves's muntjacs, and Swinhoe's frog. You can look for them during your hike. It will be extra fun.
