Things to Do in Lugu Lake

Lugu Lake is located at the junction of Ninglang Country of Yunnan Province and Yanyuan County of Sichuan Province. It is about 207 kilometers away from Lijiang, Yunnan. Travelers usually take Lijiang as the transport base for Lugu Lake tour. The lake is about 9.5 kilometrs long and 7.5 kilometers wide. The average depth of it is about 40 meters and the deepest point is 70 meters. It covers an area of 49.5 square kilometers and has water storage of about 950 million cubic meters. For those who are going to visit the lake would have a few concerns? For example, is it boring to visit the place? What to see in Lugu Lake? Lugu Lake tour is not boring at all. There are a lot of things to do and see in and around Lugu Lake, such as, enjoying a campfire party, having a cruise tour, paying a Mosuo family visit, visiting Zhamei Temple, etc..

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Enjoy A 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 campfire party usually starts at 8:40pm and ends at 9:40pm, lasting for one hour. The party is set in three parts. First part, the local Mosuo villagers dressing in local ethnic costume dance for visitors; second part, the dancers invite visitors to dance with them. You can join in and learn some moves of local dance; in the third part, the performers will invite tourists to sing in antiphonal style with them, but the language is in Chinese.

 

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Have a Cruise Tour in Lugu Lake

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.. But having a circle tour by Zhu Cao Boat (meaning Pig Feeding Trough Boat in English) is highly recommended. Zhu Cao Boat is made from a thick log and is the most important transport means for local people. Local people hollowed and sharpened the log to make a boat.

There are five islands, three peninsulas, a seawall tombolo and 18 villages along the lake. And there are many docks near to the village around the lake. Chartering a car to see beautiful scenery of the lake would be a pleasant and wonderful thing!

 

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Pay a Home Visit to Mosuo Family

If you want to know get to know the daily life of local Mosuo family and the primitive Mosuo minority villages, it is suggested to pay a home visit to Mosuo Family. It is the best way to learn local folk culture and enjoy the tranquil rurality. But you need to pay some money to the host of the family. There are many villages around the lake. You can go to one of the villages to visit.

The home visit usually including a meal in the family, chatting with the family numbers with the help of tour guide, singing and dancing with Mosuo people, etc..

 

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Visit Zhamei Temple in Yongning Country

Zhamei Temple is located in Yongning County, Yunnan. Built in Ming Dynasty, this temple is the largest monastery of Tibetan Buddhism in this area for Mosuo minority and Pumi minority. There are hundreds of Lamas in this temple. In usual time, there are only a few Lamas living here. The rest of them live at their own home. They do morning reading and utter evening prayer at home as other Lamas in the temple do, and then also get involved in work. When regular festival or assembly comes, they will gather together in the temple to perform a ceremony and chant scriptures.

The dark temple hall, burning butter lamps, golden prayer wheel, fine religious murals and coloured sculptures give visitors a mysterious and sacred feeling.

 

 

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Visit Mosuo Museum

Mosuo Museum is the only thematic museum in China, or even in the world that shows the culture, history and folk customs of Mosuo minority.

The above are some highly recommended things to do and see in Lugu Lake area.

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Best time to visit Lugu Lake 

Lugu Lake is free of ice throughout the year and has adequate lighting. Visitors can enjoy different view in different seasons all the year round. But the best time to visit is from March to October, when you can see the most beautiful landscape of the lake. Except from July to September, there is little rain in this place. Even if it rains, it won't last too long.