Yakushima Island

Yakushima Island is a skeleton with an amazing protected nature, on a relatively small area there are simultaneously tropical forests with banana groves, cedar forests and snow-capped mountain peaks. Yakushima has long been considered one of the most popular tourist destinations, with between 2 and 3 million tourists visiting it annually, including domestic ones.

General information

In 1997, Yakushima Island was included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List. This is a nature reserve, for the convenience of tourists, as well as for nature conservation, special trails have been laid. Wooden decking protects the roots of ancient cedars, and suspension bridges help to resell numerous rivers. There are many information stands with descriptions of plants, animals and other objects.

Before Yakushima Island was included in the UNESCO lists, the main business of its inhabitants was timber extraction. Rare species of pine and cedar were cut down and sold, used for construction. Tea, a rare variety that bears the island's name, is now growing in the deforested areas. Oranges, tangerines and lemon are also grown here, and citrus trees thrive in humid subtropical climates. The highest point of Yakushima Island is Mount Miyanoura, its height is 1935 meters, it, like the island itself, is built of granite. It is the granite base that protects the island from earthquakes, which are so common in this region.

Attractions

The main value of Yakushima Island is its extraordinary nature. After deforestation was carried out on the island for a long time, there are not so many century-old cedars and rare pines left. Today, each such tree has its own name, they are cherished and believed to have spirits in them, to whom small gifts are brought. The Japanese claim that it is on the island of Yakushima that the oldest cedar in the world grows, its height is just over 20 meters, and its girth is more than five meters, a special nameplate is installed next to it, and people come to it with gifts.

There are large numbers of small monkeys on the island. They consider themselves the rightful owners of these places and on this basis demand treats from numerous tourists. For this, they willingly pose for photos. The locals have a legend associated with the appearance of the island. It is believed that Yakushima is a water dragon (one of the main symbols of Japan), he disobeyed the gods and rose to the surface of the water, for which he was turned into granite. In fact, the island's landscape is very mountainous and has more than 20 peaks with a height of more than 1000 meters. Most of the year they are covered with a layer of snow, they are also called the Japanese Alps. The main city of the island is also called Yakushima, it is located on the coast, the number of locals is less than 20 thousand people. Some of them are engaged in the maintenance of the nature reserve, work as guides, grow tea and oranges.