Lugu Lake

Chinese name: 泸沽湖 (Lu Gu Hu)  
Location: the borders between Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces: Lugu town, Yanyuan County, Xichang, Sichuan Province and Nilang County, Lijiang, Yunnan Province.
Ticket: Entrance ticket CNY100.00
Estimated tour time: 1-2days
Recommended time to visit: All year round.
Nearby attractions: Lijiang Ancient Town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lashi Lake, Qiong Hai Lu Mountain Scenic Area, Luoji Mountain, etc.

Lugu Lake is 2690 m above sea level at the borders between Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, making it the highest lake in Yunnan Province. It covers an area of 50 km² with the average water depth of 45 m and the transparency 11 m. In the lake there are five islands, three peninsulas and a sea-wall islet.  The lake is like a beautiful pearl shining among the hills of the northwest plateau in Yunnan. The Lake is one of the deepest fresh water lakes in China.

On the Lugu Lake there are five islands. They are different sizes and are like green boats floating on the water. Heiwawu Island, Liwubi Island, and Lige Island are most notable. Heiwawu Island is in the center and has a variety of birds living on it. The smallest is Nixi Island - an oblong rock covered with shrubs and moss. Besides the five islands, there are also three peninsulas and an island which is linked to a seawall on the shore by a path paved with small stones.

The shores of the lake are inhabited by the Mosuo people who have lived there for generations. They have peculiar customs and ways, retaining remnants of matriarchal society. Men and women are not united by wedlock, each living at the mother's home respectively, yet keeping a casual cohabitation relationship. Thus the place is called "A Quaint Realm of Matriarchy".

Here everything looks as if it has not been disturbed by human beings at all and still remains in its primitive state. Boating in the lake, you can feel that the surface of the water is as smooth as a mirror and the water as blue as the sky. The slow – canoe in the blue lake, the beautiful Mosuo girls in their ethnic clothes and the Mosuo folk songs will show you something of primitive simplicity and peace. Lugu Lake has the fame of a fabled abode of immortals and “Plateau Pearl" for its pure and virgin land of natural landscapes.

In the early morning, the mist mixed with the light of the rising sun gives the lake an orange glow covered by mist. When the light of sun causes the hills to throw their shadows onto the water, the lake has a jade green color. The lake is calm and dark green in the evening when the sun sinks, and is peaceful when night comes.

● Highlights in Lugu Lake

Caohai Lake&Walking Marriage Bridge

Caohai, also called Grass Sea, is located at the southeast of Lugu Lake in Sichuan Province. Due to the dense reed which looks like a sea of grass from the long distance, it is named as Caohai. The area covers about 10 square kilometers. When winter comes, here will be the nesting habitats for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. In the water, fish and shrimp are very much. According to the old words, the locals survived by catching fish and shrimp and pick up wild duck eggs from the famine year at the end of fifties and the beginning of sixties. The Walking Marriage Bridge stretches across the Caohai to the opposite bank.

Walking Marriage Bridge is a romantic bridge across on Caohai Lake area. It is the place where Mosuo people date each other. In the daytime, young men and women express affection through dancing or singing if you are interested on someone. The young men call his beloved one “Axia” and the young women call her beloved guy “Azhu”. When the night falls, the “Azhu” come to Walking Marriage Bridge to meet their girls. Walking Marriage Bridge plays an important role in the custom of walking marriage of the Mosuo people.

Lige Island

Lige Island, Liwubi Island and Xiwae Island (Lock Island) are called the three magical islands of Lugu Lake, most travelers regard Lige Island as the most beautiful island which is situated at the foot of the Gemu Goddess Mountain, embraced by water on three sides. here is the best place to enjoy sunrise and sunset in Lugu Lake.
Except Daluoshui, here have the most concentrat local restaurant and hotel.  Its three sides is surrounded by water. The peninsula is linked to the Lige Village by a 2-meter-wide road. On the Peninsula, there are local ancient folk dwellings with several hundred history and hotels with comfortable Lake View rooms. In the early morning, tourists can enjoy the beautiful mist on the Lake from the room. Lige Peninsula is one of the best place for your lodging.
Climb up to the observation deck that travelers can enjoy panoramic view of Lige Island stretching into Lugu Lake.

Gemu Goddness Mountain

Gemu Goddness Mountain is the highest mountain in Lugu Lake tourist areas, also named Lion Mountain,Its altitude is 3754.7 meter. It is said that the mountain is the embodiment of Gemu Goddess. On the 25th day in July of the lunar calendar, the grand Walking around Mountan Festival is hosted here. At that day, the Mosuo people will wear festival costumes and go to the Mountain for worshiping. The highlight of Gemu Goddess Mountain is the Goddess Cave facing with Lugu Lake, offering an observation deck to have panoramic view of Lugu Lake.


Visit the lake by Zhucao boat

There are a couple of ways to enjoy a circle tour around the lake, like renting a car, taking a bicycle, hiking, horseback riding, etc.Chartering a car to see beautiful scenery of the lake would be a pleasant and wonderful thing! But having a circle tour by Zhucao Boat is highly recommended. Zhucao boats are made of a thick, hollowed-out log with two sharpened ends. They get their name because they look similar to a pig's feeding trough. The boat tour departs from Luowa Pier. Lugu Lake is clear with little algae or pollution. From Luowa Pier, visitors can take the Zhucao boat to the island in the middle of the lake.

Campfire Party

Enjoying a campfire party is a must do in Lugu Lake tour, to experience the local life and diet. But you have to pay for the entrance fee for the party. The place for holding a campfire party is not set. It is usually held in local villages around Lugu Lake. You can choose to go to one of village to take part in the campfire party. The party is held by local villagers and joined in by tourists. You can have local food and dance with local villagers in the party. The local Mosuo villagers dressing in local ethnic costume dance for visitors, and the dancers will invite visitors to dance with them, you can join in and learn some moves of local dance.