Nature never ceases to amaze, inspire and, sometimes, confuse. Often the best part of traveling to a new place is reveling in the nature it has to offer. These incredibly formed trees are only found in certain parts of the earth, and are worth traveling to for in-person viewing!
1) Baobab Trees- Madagascar
In addition to being home to incredible flora and fauna, the road from Morondava and Belon’i Tsiribihina in western Madagascar is lined with these otherworldly trees. Some are over 1000 years old, and yield a tart fruit, described as a cross between vanilla, grapefruit, and pears.
Visit Madagascar’s Tourism Board for more information.
2) Crooked Forest of Gryfino – Poland
This forest, of crooked and misshapen trees is all the more intriguing due to the mystery surrounding it. No one truly knows what causes these trees in the Crooked Forest (Polish: Krzywy Las) to grow as they do. Surrounded by perfectly straight trees, around 400 pine trees are growing with a 90-degree bend in them. Theories have been posited ranging from gravitational pulls, a random odd heavy snowfall, World War II tanks running over these trees when they were small. Perhaps the most likely reason is human manipulation for curved wood used for furniture, but no one knows for sure! For more information and how to visit this forest, click here.
3) Dragon Tree – Canary Islands, and Yemen
These incredible trees, ranging from 650 to 1000 years old, these dragon trees resemble umbrellas. The name, however, comes from the ‘dragon’s blood’ that is secreted when the bark is cut. The ‘blood’ is a red, resinous substance, used in medicines and art. While these trees may be found in various parts of the Canary Islands and Morocco, a forest of them can be found at Las Tricias, Garafia district, La Palma.
For more information on the wonders of the Canary Islands, see the guides at Hello Canary Islands.
4) Rainbow eucalyptus – Maui, Hawaii
The effect of these multi-colored and seemingly painted trees, native to parts of Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, and Indonesia, are caused by their bark being shed at different times, revealing different shades of the rainbow before returning to brown.
Growing up to 250 feet tall, at a rate of about three feet per year, these massive trees are a sight to behold! The most accessible cluster of these trees in the United States, introduced by Chinese workers on the island, can be seen near mile marker 7 along the Hana Highway. An in-depth guide can be found courtesy of Valley Isle Excursions.
5) Wisteria – Japan
Akin to a bubble-gum pink sky, one of the most impressive examples of the wisteria tree is found in Japan’s Ashikaga Flower Park, spanning nearly half an acre and is nearly 150 years old. However, during the flowering season in Japan, there are dozens of locations to view these blossoms and meander beneath their colors. The Flower Park has over 350 wisterias to wander through, but Yokosuka Shobu-en, about two hours from Tokyo, features 11 varieties of wisteria and over 250 trees. Best time to view is April until about mid-May.
More locations of wisteria parks and shrines can be found here!
Any strange and wonderful trees in your area? Drop us a line and we’ll investigate!
