In the foothills of Cerro Gaital, behind the Hotel Campestre, grow trees with a botanical anomaly that has puzzled visitors and scientists alike: their trunks are genuinely square in cross-section. You can feel the flat sides and corners with your hands. The trees grow in a patch of forest at the edge of the cloud forest reserve, reached by a short walk from the hotel.
The square trunks are the main curiosity, but the walk itself is rewarding. The cloud forest on Cerro Gaital holds quetzals, toucans, and an enormous variety of orchids, and the cooler temperature at altitude feels like a different climate from the valley floor. If you continue past the square trees, the trail climbs into serious montane forest — the full ascent to the summit takes four to six hours and requires a guide.