Yomping along the upland chalk meadows of the South Downs on a bright summer’s day with the laughter of children blowing gently in the wind, it is easy to mock those who profess to communicate with trees. But up ahead is a Bronze Age hill fort, also once the site of two Roman temples, and now dominated by a famous copse of beech trees.

Before the 1987 storm when many of the trees were blown down, I once spent a warm spring night sleeping alone among the mysterious denizens of Chanctonbury Ring. Back then, I was a keen “wild walker” and had been hiking the South Downs Way, sleeping rough as I went. I can’t pretend to have conversed with my newfound friends in fluent Ogham, the Celtic language of trees, but they certainly haunted my dreams and left a profound impression on me.

Chanctonbury Ring Credit: GETTY

My love affair with trees began as a child growing up in rural west Cornwall. We lived in a remote valley and each day I would walk along the wooded banks of the River Cober on my way to school. For me, trees were like friends and no matter what my troubles, a walk in the woods could be relied upon to soothe and heal.

The wooded banks of the River Cober Credit: AP/FOTOLIA

I have loved woodland walking ever since. I know intimately many of the woods around where I now live in Sussex while others, such as Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor, some of whose high-altitude oaks are believed to be 500 years old, I always make a point of visiting whenever I am in the area.

Your imagination is no longer your own when you walk through a forest. Or is it just that your conscious mind is no longer in control? Is that whispering all around you really just the gentle stirring of the leaves in the trees? Or is some higher force trying to tell you something?

Wistman’s Wood on Dartmoor Credit: GETTY

From the forests of the monster Grendel in Beowulf to Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Walter de La Mare’s The Listeners, Grimms’ Fairy Tales and more recently Tolkien’s Ents and Harry Potter’s Forbidden Forest, literature is full of reminders that all may not be as it seems when you find yourself alone in a forest.

Any keen walker will tell you that woods have a special magic. The play of light through the forest canopy in the early morning and evening is often bewitching, while individual tree species from the giant masculine oak to the gentle, feminine ash create an atmosphere all their own. And that’s before we’ve even considered the tropical rainforests of the equatorial regions.

In their benign daylight state, forests can feel like temples of peace and mental calm. Which is why the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) has been used as a health therapy and meditative aid for more than 30 years, proven to reduce the production of stress hormones, boost the immune system, and improve overall feelings of well-being.

The guided walking holidays below include some of the most beautiful, atmospheric and unique areas of woodland, forest and jungle in the world, from the rainforests of Costa Rica to the taiga of Finland. Among them is the Waitutu Forest in the far south of New Zealand’s South Island on the Hump Ridge Track, surely the spiritual home of Tolkien’s Ents. It is one of the most magical woodland walks I have ever experienced and was described by Dr David Bellamy as “probably the most important forest in the world”.

1. Cévennes National Park, France

The Cévennes is a maze of deep river gorges featuring steep hillsides covered with forests of sweet chestnut, beech and oak, then pine and spruce at higher altitudes. Wild boar, deer, otters, beavers and the extravagantly horned mouflon (wild sheep) populate the Cévenol conservation area. Highlights include the mountain village of L’Espérou (4,035ft), the Tarn and Jonte gorges, the Aven Armand cave with its giant stalactites/mites and the surreal rock formations of the Causse Noir.

From £2,590 (eight days) including accommodation, all meals and wines but excluding flights. Departures: September 2017. ATG Oxford (01865 315678; atg-oxford.co.uk).

Cévennes National Park Credit: GETTY

2. Forests of New England, US

No bucket list of forest walking holidays would be complete without “New England in the Fall”. The White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts are the epicentre of this annual extravaganza of colour. No need for Photoshop here. Without the structure of an A to B itinerary, this tour connects multiple options of guided day walks from accommodation in a variety of locations throughout New England.

From £3,529 (12 nights) including half-board accommodation but excluding flights. Departures: September and October 2017. HF Holidays (0345 470 8558; hfholidays.co.uk).

3. La Palma, Canaries

The Canary Islands are all volcanic but their age and level of recent volcanic activity have created startlingly different ecosystems varying from deserts to lush forests. The island of La Palma is famous for the latter, most notably the green rainforests of the north-east and the caldera of the Taburiente volcano – a National Park – with its thick pine forests, freshwater streams and eroded rock formations. The entire island is a designated Unesco biosphere reserve attracting hikers from all over the world.

From £1,419 (seven nights) including twin-centre accommodation, most meals and flights. Departures: October 2017 to March 2018. Headwater (01606 369121; headwater.com).

La Palma Credit: AP/FOTOLIA

4. Taiga forests, Finland

The taiga, Finland’s remote wilderness of forest and lakes just below the Arctic Circle and a stone’s throw from the Russian border, is home to wolves, lynx, bears, wolverines, pine martens, elk and reindeer. You’ll be trekking through the Hossa hiking area, which is known for its excellent fishing in crystal-clear lakes, while staying in simple guesthouses (some lit only by candles). You can go canoeing and, on the final day, the hike through forest wilderness passes Värikallio (“Colour Rock”) with its 4,000-year-old rock paintings.

From £1,022 (eight days) including accommodation and most meals but excluding flights. Departures: August 2017. Walks Worldwide (01962 302085; walksworldwide.com).

Spot bears in Finland Credit: GETTY

5. Jungles of Borneo and the Malaysian Peninsula

Humid, equatorial rainforests have a very different atmosphere to the forests of more temperate climes but are also ecosystems with some of the highest levels of biodiversity on the planet. This new trek into the jungles of the Taman Negara National Park – one of the oldest rainforests in the world, dating back 130 million years – also visits the montane forests of the Cameron Highlands, and the summit of Mt Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Malaysia.

From £2,649 (16 days) including accommodation, most meals, and flights. Departures: September, October, December 2017. Exodus (020 3131 6467; exodus.co.uk).

Taman Negara National Park Credit: GETTY

6. Forests of the Himalayan foothills, India

The far north of India in the foothills of the Himalayas, not far from the borders with Nepal and Tibet, is a hidden world of small traditional villages, deep wooded valleys and high, wide ridges with spectacular views of the mountains beyond. This trip explores the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary in the remote Kumaon Hills, following footpaths linking the villages and farms winding through forests of pine and oak. The bird life is spectacular and leopards are sometimes seen.

From £1,995 (10 nights) including accommodation, most meals and flights. Departures: September 2017 to May 2018. Inntravel (01653 617039; inntravel.co.uk)

7. Hill country heights trek, Sri Lanka

This walk begins in the hill country of Sri Lanka, taking in virgin forest and wooded valleys before exploring the cloud forest and rich biodiversity of Horton Plains National Park. Descending south from the hills, Sri Lanka’s “dry zone” is covered in dense, impenetrable jungle and is home to the Udawalawe National Park, famous for its herds of elephants, wild buffalo, deer and leopards. The trek ends on the coast with time to relax by the sea.

From £2,420 (14 days) including accommodation, most meals and flights. Departures: July (2017), January and March (2018). Mountain Kingdoms (01453 844400; mountainkingdoms.com).

Elephants in the Udawalawe National Park Credit: GETTY

8. Hump Ridge Track, New Zealand

The Waitutu forest on an escarpment in the far south of New Zealand’s South Island has been described by Dr David Bellamy as “probably the most important forest in the world”. It is also the living embodiment of J R R Tolkien’s forest of the Ents in The Lord of the Rings. This 33-mile circuit climbs through podocarp and beech forest to the summit of the Hump Ridge, looking out over a series of uplifted marine terraces, each one 100,000 years older than the last.

From £1,038 (four days) including accommodation and meals but excluding flights. Departures: November 2017-March 2018. Discover the World (01737 214250; discover-the-world.co.uk).

9. Kokoda Trail, Papua New Guinea

Legendary in Australia, the Kokoda Trail through the forests of the Owen Stanley Mountains in Papua New Guinea was where the Australian army turned back the advancing Japanese during the Second World War. A tough roller coaster of a hike along stunningly beautiful jungle paths, this is one of the world’s great adventure treks, full of amazing stories of bravery with the artefacts of war still being discovered in the depths of the jungle. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign, with a series of special events and commemorations planned.

From £2,490 (11 days) including accommodation (mostly under canvas) and meals but excluding flights. Departures: June-October 2017. World Expeditions (0800 074 4135; worldexpeditions.co.uk).

Walking the Kokoda Trail Credit: GETTY

10. Wildlife and forests of Costa Rica

Staying in properties awarded the Certificate of Sustainable Tourism, this itinerary takes in Costa Rica’s lush Central Valley, the misty higher altitudes of the Monteverde Cloud Forest and the dense, tropical rainforest of Manuel Antonio National Park before finishing on the forest-fringed beaches of the magical Osa Peninsula on the Pacific Coast. Along the way you will be guided by local naturalists bringing alive the rich bird life and biodiversity of the forests.

From £3,740 (13 days) full-board, including flights. Departure timings on request. Rainbow Tours (020 3131 2914; rainbowtours.co.uk).