Lugu Lake - Blogabond

200 km North east of Lijiang is the second biggest freshwater lake in China, Lugu Hu. Surrounded by villages inhabited by the Mosu people one of the last matriarchal societies on Earth. Sounded really interesting so i took a bus there from Lijiang, 8 hours later we arrived and the view as we came over the Ridge and into the valley was excellent, a crystal blue lake surrounded by pine forest with a few villages scattered around the edge.

The decent view of the lake

Sadly as we descended to the lake the weather started to change and the clouds rolled in quickly turning the lake to a more average shade of dark blue. Not to worry my guide book points me in the direction of a little village on the north edge of the lake. "A serene little place where only you and a few other adventures backpackers will make it to" Not so the village it self has been flattened (the traditional house is a wild west style log cabin) and replaced with 2 story guest houses. Worst of all the work isn't finished so there's building works everywhere. Serious disappointment but its to late to go anywhere else so I got a cheap bed for the night and plan to move in the morning.

Next morning the weather has worsened, high winds and driving rain and the lake resembles the north sea. I head to the main town all the same and though its a similar story there the guesthouses have been around much longer so don't look so ridiculously out of place, the day though is a washout and I resort to my book.

rain sinks the rafts!

The weather on day 3 is no better so i took a bus back to Lijiang. That was the other thing the Lonely planet was wrong about. Hopes of carrying on north are scuppered by buses leaving at odd times and i didn't want to end up in a random industrial town at 1 am.

Massive disappointment all in all, as all the locals (sensibly) stayed in doors and got not real views of the lake or any chance to cycle or walk around it. In fairness its been the first failure in 7 weeks travel so my odds haven't been to bad.

written by

Dan on April 27, 2008 from Lugu Hu, China

from the travel blog: Been there, Dan that!

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