The 5 Oldest Forests on the Planet You Can Still Visit
From Australia's Daintree to Chile's giant alerce trees, these are five of the oldest forests on Earth you can still walk through. Here is what each costs and how to reach it. The post The 5 Oldest Forests on the Planet You Can Still Visit appeared first on The Rio Times .
From Australia to Chile, five ancient forests are still accessible to travelers. The Daintree rainforest in far north Queensland is often called the world's oldest tropical rainforest, with an age of around 180 million years. This age is attributed to its Gondwanan lineage, not continuous cover. Accessible by road from Cairns or Port Douglas, the rainforest offers boardwalks and lookout points for free.
In Poland and Belarus, Bialowieza Forest is Europe's last large primeval lowland forest, home to wild European bison and ancient oaks. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the core area requires a licensed guide. Japan's Yakushima Island is home to the ancient Yakusugi cedar, with some specimens estimated to be 2,000 to 7,200 years old.
Yakushima can be reached from Kagoshima by high-speed hydrofoil or car ferry. In New Zealand, Waipoua Forest shelters the country's tallest kauri trees, including the famous Tane Mahuta, estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years old. Accessible by self-drive from Auckland or Whangarei, there is no entry fee, but visitors must abide by kauri dieback regulations.
Finally, in Chile's Valdivian temperate rainforest, the alerce tree can live up to 3,600 years. The Gran Abuelo, or Alerce Milenario, in Alerce Costero National Park is often cited at around 3,500 years old, though a 2022 study suggests it could be around 5,484 years old. Accessible by road from Valdivia or La Union, the national park charges foreign adults roughly US$9 to US$12 for entry to the viewpoint sector.
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