The rock maze, an extremely precious geological heritage situated at Paku Town, was formed after a long geological evolution. The inside of the rock maze is formed by peculiar stones in dynamic shapes that form crisscrossing pathways between rocks and plants of all sizes.
Hidden labyrinth of fascinating rock formations
The Paku Rock Maze Garden, some 30 km from Kuching City, which was officially opened to the public last year, has attracted many visitors from near and far, both from within Sarawak as well as foreign tourists.
It was a wise move by the Paku Village Development Committee (JKKK) with the cooperation of the Responsible Borneo (Reborn) initiative, under the leadership of Dr Hiram Ting, government agencies and local communities to turn the rocks of fascinating shapes that have been lying in the jungle for millions of years (according to geologists) into a park-like setting.
It has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction that brings benefits to the local community, especially the Paku Bazaar, Paku Food Courts and local communities.
Efforts are still underway to improve and provide more facilities to cater to the needs of tourists. Hopefully, it will attract more tourists in the future.
Visiting the Paku Rock Maze Garden recently made me recall a similar tourist attraction that I visited three years ago in Guizhou, China, known as the Water Stone Forest (or Stone Forest on Water) at Tianxingqiao Scenic Area.
The Water Stone Forest in China
Tianxingqiao Scenic Area is located in the lower reaches of the famous Huangguoshu Waterfall, the largest waterfall in China and East Asia. It is situated near Anshun City in Guizhou Province in Southern China.
The Water Stone Forest is one of the three major attractions in the Tianxingqiao Scenic Area. The other two are the Tianxing Bonsai Area and the Tianxing Cave.
The Water Stone Forest is an area of unique natural stone formations believed to have been formed millions of years ago. A large section of the rocks is partially submerged in the water of a natural lake.
Some stones are seen acting like natural stepping stones where visitors could walk across the lake, while others are man-made concrete steps added to complete the path. The designers of the park surely had a good creative idea by inscribing on each of the stony steps a date of the year, in some 365 pieces of the steps.
Visitors could search for their own “birthday stones” as they walked through the steps. Some of the dates even have the names of famous celebrities who were born on such a date. For example, the date November 7 is engraved with the name of Marie Curie, the scientist who discovered radioactivity.
The other paths on land also lead visitors to go through many fascinating stone formations that form a forest. Some have old-looking trees, vines and cactuses growing on them.
There are concrete and wooden bridges built over the lake, which enable visitors to discover the natural wonders in this scenic area, enjoying the natural scenery and the fresh air.
I was told that some of the scenes in the 1986 version of “Journey to the West” or “Xi You Ji”, were shot at the park here. The popular Chinese movie was based on the legend of a monk named Tang Sheng and his pilgrimage to the West.
Water fountains were also built at the lake, near some traditional heritage buildings that house a café, an eatery and a souvenir shop.
If you have the opportunity to visit Guizhou, China, in the future, it is worth making a trip to this scenic area, along with visiting the famous Huangguoshu Waterfall.
As for the Paku Rock Maze Garden, I sincerely hope that the current efforts made by the authorities will turn it into a prime tourist destination in Bau, so that we can have more activities and places to explore in the area.
Hopefully, we can take the Water Stone Forest as an example, have similar creative ideas and more, to turn Paku Rock Maze Garden on par with its Chinese counterpart.
