.jpg)
The Stone Forest is situated in Yunnan Province in China. It is near Shilin of Shilin Yi Autonomous county and therefore known by the name Shilin. Remarkable collection of limestone formations makes the landscape so special. Shilin is nearly one hundred kilometres away from Kunming, which is capital of Yunnan province.
The giant soaring rocks appears as if it originate from ground as stalagmites. Most of the rocks look similar to petrified trees and create a perfect illusion of forest that is made of stone. Two major portions of this stone forest namely Suogeyi Village and Naigu Stone forest are recognized as world heritage spots by UNESCO. Stone Forest is classifies as a tourist site with AAAAA-class status.
Special features
The stone forest covers three hundred fifty square kilometres area. The entire scenic area is divided into seven areas like Zhiyun cave, Qifeng cave, Naigu stone forest, Lake Chang, Dadie waterfall, Lizijing stone forest, and Lake Yue. All these stone formations are caused mainly due to limestone dissolution and were formed two hundred seventy million years before. Each scenic area in stone forest isattraction for domestic as well as overseas tourists. Bus services from Kunming are available regularly to stone forest. Many hotels in Shilin offer accommodation services to tourists visiting the place.
Torch Festival is a special event celebrated on twenty fourth day of 6th lunar month every tear. It features wrestling competitions and folk dances mainly.
Stone forest is a part of Karst region in South China. It extends mainly in three provinces, namely Guizhou, Guangxi and Yunnan. It is an excellent illustration of humid tropical to subtropical landscapes. The area in Shilin shows outstanding Karst features as well as landscapes that are not seen at any other location in the world. There is a large domain of variant pinnacle shapes rocks which is diverse in terms of colours and shapes. There are column shaped, pagoda shaped, pinnacle shaped, and mushroom shaped rocks here.
Duet to this variety rock collection, Stone Forest is internationally offered the name – Museum of Stone Forest Karst. The warm climate at stone forest is consistent one. Different plants, animals and humans will be found here with distinguishing characteristics. Lot of beautiful legends have originates in Stone forest. 
Travel tips
From Kunming, there is a drive of three hours by road to reach stone forest. The recommended time to have a complete visit is a minimum of two hours. The admission fee varies based on the day period visited. During festive occasions like National day holidays (October one to seven), May Day holidays (3 days around May 1) and spring festival holidays (New Year eve in China to January 6), it is one hundred forty Chinese Yuan. For other days, the fee is one hundred seventy five Chinese Yuan. The opening hours in stone forest is 8.30 am to 18.00 pm. Regular buses are available from east coach station in Kunming. A walk through stone forest will reveal the natural masterpieces of stone more obviously.
Stone Forest is the most significant attraction in entire Yunnan province. Never miss to visit stone forest on your trip to Kunming, else it will be a time wastage!