The Stone Forest at Shilin

Shilin is a limestone plateau that has been dissolving for a very long time, leaving a dense field of grey pillars, some of them twenty or thirty metres high, standing close enough together to form corridors. Paths run between and sometimes through them, with staircases up to pavilions that show the extent of it from above. The Greater and Lesser Stone Forest sections are the busiest, while outlying areas such as Naigu, with darker rock, need a shuttle and see a fraction of the visitors. The site is part of the UNESCO South China Karst listing. The surrounding county is Sani Yi country, and local dress and music are visible around the park.

What you actually see

• The Lesser Stone Forest - the compact core, with the most photographed pillars and the densest crowds.
• The Greater Stone Forest - the wider area behind it, with staircase viewpoints over the whole field.
• Naigu Stone Forest - a separate darker-rock section a shuttle ride away, far quieter.
• The corridors - the narrow slots between pillars, cool and shaded even in summer.

When to go

Kunming's climate is mild year round, so timing is about crowds rather than weather. Weekday mornings are best, before the coaches arrive from the city around mid morning. Summer afternoons bring short heavy showers that leave the rock slippery. Buy the shuttle ticket if you want the outlying sections, which almost all groups skip.

Honest expectations

The core section is small and on a busy day feels like a queue through a maze, complete with loudspeakers and group flags. Signage inside the pillars is poor and it is easy to loop back on yourself. The entry price is high for the time most people spend here, and the development around the gate is heavy.

Nearby

Kunming, and the Jiuxiang caves about an hour away.