Stone Forest

The Karst rocks called the Stone Forest is a few hours drive from Kunming.

We had a terrible start with the traffic but it became a blessing in disguise.

What should have taken 2 to 3 hours became a 4.5 hour drive with 2 substantial gridlocks, due to the main highway being closed. (It took 2 hours to get home).

This caused many taxis and tour buses to abandon their journey. Eg only 6 taxis arrived whereas normally 30 to 40 are normally there.
This meant that our time around the rocks was without major crowds. And when we went exploring, we didn't see any people for ages. Unheard of in China.

We took a guided tour initially, but she wanted to rush us and didn't take us to much of the large stone area. So we went back and explored for another 3 hours.

Simply magnificent. It was like a maze of paths. Stunning views and deep gorges.