Taiwan Unveils The World’s First ‘Quiet Trail’ For Peaceful Hiking

A hiking trail in Taiwan has been given the honor of being the world’s first “certified quiet hiking trail.” This means that to hike Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail, you need to use more than your ears and eyes. You must literally shut up while exploring. Read on to find out more about this truly quiet experience.

Official Quiet Trail in Taiwan

The US-based nonprofit organization, Quiet Parks International (QPI) engages in research and raising public awareness of the benefits of “quietness.” With this research, the organization pushes the importance of quietness, while seeking the preservation of tranquil natural and urban places.

The organization’s latest accreditation has been awarded to the Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail, between Taiping Mountain and Dayuan Mountain in Taiwan. This pristine hiking route hugs island nation’s largest alpine lake in the northeast of the country. Meanwhile, the trail through Yilan County is located around 84 miles (135 km) from the capital Taipei. While the trail is relatively close to the city, hikers feel like they are a world away.

While the organization is normally involved in quiet parks, this hiking trail is the first Quiet Trail in the world.

About the Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail

The Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail was built on the former tracks of a forest railway at around 6,500 feet above sea level. The trail makes its way through a lush cypress forest, carpeted with thick green moss. According to a statement by QPI, the moss acts like a layer of “natural sound-absorbing foam.” Reportedly, the lowest measured volume on the trail is less than 25 decibels, which QPI classifies as “almost silent.”

While the 2.5-mile trail attracted many visitors, a number of hikers turn back at the end of the 984-ft (3.9-km) wooden walkway after viewing the lake. According to Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau, this drop in hiker numbers can help preserve the natural silence of the trail.

Benefits to tourism in Taiwan

Meanwhile, the certification comes at a perfect time for Taiwan which lost much tourist revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the island nation has eased entry restrictions and shortened quarantine to three days from June 15, leisure travelers are still unable to visit. This fact has made domestic travel in the country even more important to the economy.

Lin Hua-ching, the director of the Forestry Bureau made a statement about the news:

For a densely populated island to have the world’s first certified ‘Quiet Trail’ carries special meaning for Taiwan.

Renowned natural sound recordist Laila Fan was the first to note how quiet the trail is while being rich in ambient sounds and animal noises. Fan described the sounds of birds chirping, frogs calling, insects humming and leaves rustling, as being “unique to Taiwan.” In fact, she said they can only be heard on the Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail. Fan added:

Silence doesn’t mean there is nothing there. On the contrary, there is already something there, but we never pay attention; we never really listen.

In 2012, Fan made her first audio recordings on the trail. She then spent six years raising public awareness, while preserving the quiet of the environment. Fan even made an online database of natural sound recordings from 50 locations on the island. Readers can enjoy some of the recordings near the bottom of the home page of the website. She includes images of birds while playing their natural sounds.

It was due to Fan’s efforts that the Taiwanese government declared the route the first “silent trail” in Taiwan in 2018. This was, of course, followed by the QPI certification this year.

Could overtourism be a problem?

Fan isn’t too concerned that publicity of the trail could attract new visitors, along with their noise. Instead, she hopes the designation will inspire visitors to “open their senses” and learn to respect quietness.

While currently, only domestic tourists can enjoy the peace and quiet on Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail. However, hopefully, Taiwan will soon reopen to international travelers. Readers can learn more about the hiking trail in the video included below: