The Hedge Trick: Can You Find The Right Way In This Maze Under 10 Seconds?

At first glance this circular hedge maze is a feast for the eyes: perfect concentric rings, crisp green hedges, sunlit paths and a calm central island. But what makes it an optical illusion isn’t a hidden picture, it’s how your brain reads depth, symmetry and repetition. The maze’s repeated arcs and regularly spaced radial gaps create a strong pattern your visual system assumes will continue. That pattern-bias tempts you to follow the largest, most obvious curves, often the wrong ones, turning a solvable puzzle into a lingering visual trap.The illusion also works because the maze combines two distinct cues: concentric circular corridors (which invite a spiraling approach) and radial spokes (short straight cuts that connect rings). When you stare

at it you see both “rings” and “spokes” simultaneously; your brain tries to reconcile them and often favors the ring-like, circular motion. In reality the fastest route to the center uses the spokes: move inward whenever a spoke presents itself.Can you find the center in under 10 seconds? Try it now, look at the entrance at the bottom, then glance for the nearest radial cut that leads inward toward the hub. Don’t trace the long outer arcs; look for the small straight passages that point centrally.How to get there, a simple, reliable method

• Start at the southern entrance (the gap at the bottom).
• Move forward and scan for the first radial passage that goes toward the center, not along the outer ring.
• Take that radial passage. Once in the next ring, again scan for the inward passage and take it.
• Repeat: always choose the passage that leads inward when available. Avoid following the long circular corridors unless no inward option exists.
• After a few inward hops you’ll reach the central hub.

Why this works: instead of following the seductive symmetry of the rings, you exploit the maze’s hierarchical design, the spokes shorten the distance to the goal. The illusionary difficulty comes from the rings’ visual dominance; the strategy defeats that by prioritizing direction (inward) over appearance (nice curves).So did you find it in under 10 seconds? If not, try again with the “take the inward cut” rule and watch how quickly the maze surrenders, what looked tricky becomes straightforward once you stop listening to the illusion.