Shilin

Shilin - better known as the Stone Forest - is a two hour bus journey from Kunming and makes a great day out. The Stone Forest is a series of Limestone Karst formations, and some of the formations are unique to this one site.

It's a Unesco World Heritage Site - and while it's a great place to go - it does feel as if it's been Disneyfied a bit. At 14 pounds, it's a bit pricey to get in - but I thought it was totally worth it. And if your interested in geology (even just a little bit) there are loads of informative displays through out the park...well worth a visit.

It's very popular with Chinese tourists - but if you walk ten minutes away from the main area you can have most of it pretty much to yourself. At one point I was walking for a couple of hours and only saw a few people. I actually thought the best views were in the quiet bits - so really enjoyed it.

Here are some pics:



The famous "Rabbit Wearing Basket On Head:



Rare limestone formation - said to be at least 65 million years old:



There were quite a lot of cameras throughout the park - but there was zero graffiti and no damage to the rocks which was really impressive. It might be a bit Disneyfied - but serious efforts are being made to look after the forest.



Antique Cliffy Paintings of Stone Forest - in other words graffiti:



On a serious note - these drawings are said to be almost 2000 years old:



Classic Limestone Karst:



The Eternal Mushroom:









Woman wandering with child - no - I couldn't see it either:



Fossilised Coral:



Everyone is filled with wonder:



Perhaps not:



Elephant Rock:



The manicured bit - it looks so much like a golf course:



And just in case you'd forgotten what I look like: