WuMao Earth Forest & Langbapu Earth Forest, Yuanmou, Yunnan

Yuanmou, located inside Yunnan province of China, was famous for the discovery of Yuamou Man in year 1965. However not many people I know heard of Yuanmou before, moreover these wonderlands of Yuanmou's Earth Forests or known as TuLin土林 in Mandarin. Caused by earth movements and erosions, the formation of pillar-like landscapes gives away "trees in a forests" illusions to people who view them from afar.

Earth Forests has been one of the amazing landscape I've viewed in year 2017. It was magnificent, breathtaking and strange, at that very moment I can feel I'm surrounded by time, not the concept of time but the whole 2 million years it took to form all these, the feeling was indescribable it gave me goosebumps. 

How small we humans are compare to the power of nature?

I think it took about 4 hours bus ride for us to reach WuMao TuLin from Kunming city, 35degree of scorching hot weather, it kinda make strolling through these rock formations harder that I thought but the views around are sensation to the eyes whenever we encounter odd looking formations and locals have named a few of those formations according to the object/folk tales they resemble. 

Main entrance of WuMao Tulin
Saw the electric car at side? We took a short ride to the exit because it was an easier course to walk the path reversely. 

Our first sight of WuMao Tulin - City of Satan

Weathered landscapes were formed by clay, red soil and yellow silt, the layers are rich in colours which is the perfect depiction of time stood still.

It looks like an eerie demon mask to me, what do you see?

The main route of WuMao Tulin was more than 2KM covering 10 major scenic spots and not to mention there are many little routes here and there that leads to 45 other spots which wasn't frequently visit by tourists. We are like the only tourists there at 2pm and there wasn't sight of other tourists at the end of our visit, which I enjoyed because I can spend some sweet time taking photos and videos without rushing or worry blocking others.

There are some rest pavilion located here and there along the main route but I like it more sitting on the rocks, admiring the rock formations upclose.

It wasn't an easy sightseeing spots if I were to be honest, at least not in the late summer/early autumn where there wasn't any cold breeze blew through the area. A pair of sunglasses, water bottles and plenty of sunblock is a must if you were to visit Earth Forests. With sunglasses blocking extra sunrays and my habit of looking for odd photo taking spots, I spotted this magical place called Rift and it reminded me the Grand Canyon in lighter colour version.

We stood here for a bit, try to catch a breather from the weather
It was quiet, we let the silence of time immerse into our souls

Toad Crying For Rain
Can you see the toad?

Jackie Chan starred in a movie in year 2010 and it was filmed at WuMao Tulin, hence there were some props left behind in the area which compliments the Earth Forest in a subtle way 

Saw this sign just right before we enter the tunnel below

A very small tunnel which cut through one of the rock formation

Seriously, each and every turn of WuMao Tulin is photogenic, we kind bursts our memory cards just to capture the beauty of it.

Can't recall which area is this but it looks like a mini version of Monument Valley

Particularly like this area because of the western architecture structure it gave me, I will definitely name it as Ruins of Parthenon

Somewhere near the Ruins of Parthenon, there's a Buddha statue located under the shades of this umbrella-shaped landscape.

Trying out the 12-100mm F2.8 Pro lens from Olympus

We were all sweaty and one tone tanner after finish walking the main route of WuMao Tulin and our tour guide Xiao Huang lead us to the next destination, which is also an Earth Forest site but on a grander scale - Langbapu Tulin. It was about an hour bus ride away from WuMao Tulin, so if you plan to visit these two Earth Forest sites in one day, I would recommend you to hire a car for easy traveling between these destinations and of course back to Yuanmou city area.

Aside from the scorching hot sun, it was a good day.
On our way to Langbapu Earth Forest.

Langbapu Earth Forest

The routes of Langbapu Earth Forest are as long as 6KM, thrice the length of WuMao Earth Forest route. We reached Langbapu Earth Forest later in the afternoon, hence we're only covering a smaller area of the site, rushing back to Yuanmou city for dinner before it was too late. 

Dragon statue located just beside the viewpoint of Langbapu Earth Forest area entrance

The clouds added a cinematic effect to this kung-fu fighting showdown

Here are some photos taken from the viewpoint on top:

It's harder to capture the grandeur feelings of these rock formations in general, but you get the idea of how big the place is!

I guess it is best visiting Langbapu Earth Forest later in the afternoon as the sun was going down, the contrast between colour and shadows of these landscapes were mesmerising. Due to different substance ratio, earth forest of Langbapu appears more yellowish compare to WuMao Tulin, and it looks like a golden forest when the sun shines on them.

I had to take this photo at the viewpoint on top of Langbapu Earth Forest before we head down the stairs and start our tour.

Route that leads to Area no.2, which we don't have enough time to visit T_T

The pavements here are mostly covered with sand as the landscapes' erosions doesn't stop. Hence what we've seen this year might not be the same if we were to visit these Earth Forests 10 or 20 years later. The silence surrounding Langbapu Earth Forest is certainly more deafening and at that very moment, I felt like I was the last person on earth the tranquility of it was overwhelming.

The entrance fee for the respective Earth Forests are:

80yuan WuMao TuLin

70yuan Langbapu TuLin

or 100yuan if purchase both and save 50yuan

Best time to visit: November - May

Avoid rainy season at all cost as it will be dangerous and harder to walk around.

What I Wore:

OUTER: Atelier Prive Melson Long Lace Cardigan
TOP: Forever 21 Spaghetti top
BOTTOM: H&M
SHOES: Timberland
SUNNIES: Topshop