Stone Forest (Shilin)

UNESCO World Heritage Site (South China Karst, 2007); UNESCO Global Geopark; National 5A Tourist Attraction · Kunming, Yunnan

A maze of grey limestone pinnacles, blades and towers rising up to 30 metres high out of red earth and pine groves southeast of Kunming, looking from above like a petrified forest. The rock was laid down in a shallow sea some 270 million years ago, then lifted, split along its joints and dissolved by rain into a labyrinth of narrow lanes, stone arches and hidden pools. The Stone Forest is part of the UNESCO South China Karst World Heritage site and a UNESCO Global Geopark. Paths wind through the Major Stone Forest past named formations such as the Sword Peak Pond and the Lotus Peak, while the gentler Minor Stone Forest opens into lawns and ponds around the rock said to be Ashima, heroine of the most famous legend of the Sani people, a branch of the Yi who live here. Sani women in embroidered dress guide visitors and sell handicrafts. The dark, eerie Naigu Stone Forest and the Zhiyun Cave lie nearby, and every summer the area celebrates one of Yunnan's biggest Torch Festivals with bonfires, bullfights and wrestling.

Shilin Scenic Area, Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Kunming, Yunnan, China

Daily, roughly 8:00-18:00; battery cars run during opening hours. Hours may shorten in winter.

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