Lugu Lake is a place I had never heard of and would probably never have visited if it weren’t for Ya Ting, my travel buddy in Yunnan province. It straddles the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, providing the perfect doorway to a province I hadn’t even planned to visit, but have since come to love exploring.
We ended up at the gateway to the lake after a particularly successful hitchhike, then climbed into a 50 RMB minibus bound for the lake. The driver was part of the minority village tribe that lives around Lugu Lake. He offered to get us a “special discount” on the park entrance in exchange for 50 yuan, about half the price of the standard entrance ticket.
“I’m a tour guide, so I don’t have to pay” said Ya Ting, fudging the truth a bit since she did have a tour guide badge but had quit that job months ago.
“I’m a student,” I lied, “so my entrance fee is only 50 kuai anyways.”
His face fell and silence passed for ten minutes before he retorted, “then just give me 20, less than half the student price!”
I hesitantly agreed, unsure of how he procured this special discount, upon which he abruptly stopped the car and ordered a changing of seats. I couldn’t quite understand what he was saying, other than making out “girlfriend,” as he put me in front.
We pulled up to the park entrance while the attendants looked in the car and, satisfied that we were all locals, waved us through, until spotting me front and center. The attendant began to approach the car, pointing directly at me, when the driver suddenly put the gas pedal to the floor and sped through, laughing like a puckish child, while the attendant shouted wildly behind us.
I realized that the “discount” he provided was really a tip for driving right through the entrance without paying the fee. He thought if I appeared to be his girlfriend perhaps they’d let me through gratis (though clearly his half-witted plan didn’t work). I happily handed over the 20 once we reached Lugu Lake, fully respecting the hustle.
The thing to do in Lugu Lake is to cycle around it, a hilly route that spans 74 kilometers. The bikes run at a rental fee of about USD $5 per day.
I hadn’t really known what to expect of the lake, given I blindly followed Ya Ting there, but was very glad to see that it was a beautiful hue of blue, and even reminded me a bit of New Zealand:
Lugu Lake is a sacred place, known as women’s country to commemorate a time when women were the head of the household in the area.
It just so happened that we were also there on International Women’s Day, what are the odds?
Unfortunately, given our late start and regular breaks, the sun showed signs of going down and we had to stop our forward progress for the night in one of the small towns along the way.
I do believe it could have been biked in one day if I had been solo and started earlier. I didn’t need the frequent breaks but didn’t want to leave my friends behind, and often found myself waiting for 20-30 minutes at a time, taking photos, while waiting for them to catch up.
Poor Ya Ting, she even fell and took a tumble, scraping her arm and back, on one of the downhills. After that, I couldn’t be frustrated that we didn’t make it the whole way around. After all, she knew a hotel owner who let us stay the night for free.
Besides, it was the perfect part of the lake for a beautiful sunrise viewing.
All’s well that ends well!
Do it yourself:
- Take an early AM bus from Lijiang, the gateway to Lugu Lake. It will take about 8 hours to get there along some winding and bad roads
- If the bus stops at Ninong, touts will be around offering a ride the rest of the way for around 50 yuan
- There are lots of little guest houses and a youth hostel available to stay in
- Bicycle rental places are all along the lake. They’ll ask about 30 yuan per rental
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Franca says
This lake and the surrounding area is truly beautiful! Whenever there is water, no matter if it’s a river, sea or lake (even puddles sometimes) I’m happy!
Kenneth says
Love the shot of the local guy in the unique hat. Is that hat common around the region?
Kristin says
Yeah they sell it everywhere around there. I must admit I was tempted to get one! Doesn’t fit well into a backpack, unfortunately.
Emily says
I’ve never heard of Lugu Lake either – it looks so peaceful and serene!
Kristin says
It was! Was really nice.
Heather says
Your posts are making me want to go back to China!! We sadly never made it to Lugu Lake, but it reminds me of Erhai Lake near Dali. I just love the scenery there!
Kristin says
It did look a bit like Erhai! About the same size but more mountainous.
Emily says
Yet another place to add to my list when I head to that region this fall! 🙂
Ignatius says
Hi,
saw your post on Lugu Lake and reminded me of my trip with my girlfriend back in May 2010.
The place was so serene and the hostel that we stayed at is a great place to chill out at(kinda forgot the name).
We did try to cycle around the lake too but gave up about an hour into it. hahaha.
Great fun reading your posts. Will be going to South Africa with her mid May.
Looking forward to more of your trips=)
Kristin says
Thanks Ignatius! South Africa sounds amazing
Brett says
Hey Kristin – Just discovered your blog as I’m looking for my next adventure within China and read this post on Lugu Lake. I was there last spring with my wife and while we absolutely loved the natural beauty of the place, there was something a little bit off about the way the locals interacted with us – almost like the expectation that tourists were on “their turf” and thus pay a (premium) price for everything which we found a bit off putting. Keep in mind my wife is from Dongbei and my Mandarin is passable and we are also respectable travelers and guests so it was a bit odd for us. That said, we still enjoyed the sheer beauty of the place and Yunnan is probably my favorite province that I’ve visited so far. Enjoyed reading of your adventures and look forward to discovering more. Cheers!
Kristin says
Sometimes that happens to me too in places where other people didn’t get the same impression. Maybe it’s the way I’m perceiving it or just the way I’m projecting myself to the world but I’ve had that happen as well and couldn’t figure out what the issue was. I had a somewhat different experience there because the bus driver, for half the price of the park entrance, pocketed my cash and sped through the park entrance so that I didn’t have to pay full price. It wasn’t until he did that and the guy at the kiosk shouted after us that I understood what he was doing. We all had a good laugh about it, though. Later, I stayed with a friend’s friend at his guesthouse for free, so I just think we had a different experience due to circumstance and because I had Ya Ting with me. Something about Ya Ting, maybe her constant enthusiasm, led to us getting a lot of things for free.