Hiking and canoeing at Lugu Lake

Lugu Lake, at the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, is a deep lake surrounded by tall mountains at 2,685 meters above sea level and canoeing on the lake is a great way to feel its beauty.

The lake covers 48 square kilometers and has a depth of about 93 meters at its deepest place, while the mountains that ring it range from 3,000 meters to 3,800 meters above sea level, so that people can enjoy some boating around or go exploring and hiking in the mountains.

Situated away from the lake are primitive villages, many without electricity or running water, which around it are new, modern hotels and resorts that are still comparatively inexpensive. There are also new roads around the lake, and people from the Mosuo ethnic group are adapting to tourism, but there are still fewer tourists here than at the more popular Lijiang and Dali. So this is an interesting to visit although camping is not permitted in the area.

Because there are still so few tourists, ATMs are hard to find and most of the area is not built up, but there are plenty of paths and it is possible to get away from the bigger hotels or resorts and find places with inexpensive accommodations, exotic native food and good scenery.

The valley recently got electric power lines but many villages still have none and most villages rely on wells or streams for their water. Hikers should carry their own water or drink boiled or bottled water and it might be a good idea to bring a water purifier. The Mosuo people say they used to drink the water directly from the lake, but now it is a little polluted, so some use a boat to get water from cleaner parts of the lake.