8 Days Lijiang Hiking Tour: Baoshan Stone Town, Lugu Lake, Liuqing Village, Labo Village

Tour Code: LJ02

Lijiang Exploration

8 Days of Baoshan Stone Town to Lugu Lake in Yunnan of Lijiang - Baoshan - Liuqing Village - Labo Village - Gewa Village - Zhuangzi Village - Lugu Lake - Lijiang

Lugu Lake, Lijiang

On the first day, arrive in Lijiang and get prepared. Stay overnight at a local hotel.

On the second day, take bus from Lijiang Bus Station which is the biggest bus station in Lijiang to Baoshan. You can take bus No. 8 and 11 to Lijiang Bus Station. It is 345km from Lijiang to Baoshan and takes about 8 hours by bus. Baoshan Stone Town is a small town with one hundred families on the top of a gigantic rock. Below this stone town and towards the eastern side, lies the Jinshajiang River. The other three sides are steep cliffs. In this town, you may be amazed at the sight of many household equipments made of stone. Stay overnight at the Mu's Guest House. When you enter the gate of the stone town, walk forward for about 150 meters, then you can find the Mu's Guest House.

On the third day, trek to Liuqing Village for about 7 hours. The first part of the hiking is very hard as you will ascent from 1788m to 2499m (Taiziguan Pass). After descending the peak, the beautiful Crown Gorge looks much thinner and quieter. Instead of climbing over two stiff rock mountains, the tunnels were manually dug long years ago. Walk into the tunnels and move one step that brings you more close to the light. You could find the blue sky much lovely after coming out from the tunnels, and then pass the tranquil forest to Liuqing Village. Stay overnight in the village.

Lugu Lake, Lijiang

On the fourth day, trek 5 hours from Liuqing Village to Fengke Village (1850m). The trekking today is much easier than yesterday. Most of the road is the even and downslope. En route, you will pass three villages. Stay overnight in Fengke Village.

On the fifth day, we have to hike for 6 hours to Gewa Village (2650m) via Labo. Fengke Village is on the side of Jinshajiang River. Walk for about 1 hour to arrive at Genang ferry. Take a boat to cross the Jinshajiang River and enter the Labo Village which is a autonomous village of Moso Minority. Then climb ascent for about 2 to 3 hours till you find the road to the Gewa Village. Walk along the road for 30 minutes and you can reach the Gewa Village. After having a short rest, go on walking for 2 hours to the destination today, Zhuangzi Village. It is a mixed place of residence of Yi and Lisu Minority. Stay overnight in the village.

On the sixth day, from Zhuangzi Village, spend 2 hours to hike across a virgin forest and arrive at the entrance of the mountain which altitide is 3000 meters. Here, you can see the Lugu Lake from a far distance. Climb down the mountain. 2 hours later, you can arrive at Yangpi Village of Yi Minority. Then, you will reach Yongning Village after another 2 hours' hiking. Yongning Village is 20km from the Lugu Lake. You can take a car for about 30 minutes to the Lugu Lake. Stay overnight at the local guest house in the village near the lake.

Mosuo Minority people

On the seventh day, drive back to Lijiang. Make some stop on the way. First stop at Ninglang County (about 2 hours drive from Lugu Lake) for a visit to local bazaar. From Ninglang to Lijiang, there are some small villages, so stop from time to time to have a short visit to some of the villages. It takes about 7 hours driving from the Lugu Lake back to Lijiang. Stay overnight at a guest house in Lijiang.

On the last day, leave Lijiang according your schedule.

Questions & Reviews

Apr. 22,2008 17:56 Reply

Mr.Mike Root said:

2-day itinerary for Lijiang travel

First day: After breakfast about 8:00, set off along the highway for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, one of the nine Tibetan Buddhism mountains. The entrance fee is RMB45 yuan per person. Climb the mountain by cable car, price at RMB50 yuan including the insurance fee. Visit the Baishui River and Baishui Tai on the way descending down the mountain. Have lunch at the Xuehua Village (meaning snow flake village). Visit the Yufeng Temple (RMB12 yuan)and the Baisha Murals (RMB8 yuan) in the afternoon. Go back to Lijiang afterwards. For night entertainment, you could go to watch the Naxi Ancient Music Show.

Second day: Start the day tour at 8:00 to visit the Lijiang Old Town and the Yuquan Park where the Black Dragon Pool (RMB 20 yuan) is. You could also visit the Dongba Academic Museum (RMB15 yuan)in the park. After lunch, drive to visit the Tiger Leap Gorge and the Stone Drum Town, the first bend of the Yangtze River. Drive back to Lijiang for dinner.

Apr. 15,2008 17:16 Reply

Ms.Gloria(China) said:

The Kunming airport is very close to the urban center, so if you arrive in Kunming too late, then just stay at the hotel near the airport, as you might be cheated by the taxi driver in the late evening. Benefit from the pleasant weather in this spring city, most of the hotels in Kunming have no air-condition. You won't feel chokey in the hotel. Don't worry!

Stone Forest in Kunming is a must for travelers coming here. As for Dali, personally I don't suggest it. The only good point is the Dali Old Town. The bars here are more interesting than that in Lijiang. It's just a kind of feeling, no specific reason. Anyway this is just my personal thought. You make up your own decision.

Lijiang is also a must. When you visit Lijiang, do remember to take the long trousers and jacket or coat. You will feel cold in the bars in Lijiang even in very hot summer. You can buy some really stylish scarves or dresses with ethnic flavor here. Very cheap and lovely. There are lots of reastaurants in Lijiang opened by Sichuan people, so don't need to worry about the food. Very delicious! You may just need to spend RMB100 to have a really big meal. Live inside the Old Town, but instead of Lijiang Old Town, choose another town called Shu River Old Town. Very quiet and well maintained.

If you take taxi to visit around, here are some tips for your reference. RMB100 is needed to Jade Dragon Snow Monntain. RMB200 is for Tiger Leaping Canyon and RMB60 to the airport.

Hope these information can help you in some extent and wish you have a nice trip dear friends!

Oct. 16,2007 16:55 Reply

Mr.James Salzman(Australia) said:

Treking in the Tiger Leaping Gorge is really fantastic, but it depends on the weather a lot. Although we did it without problems, before we went there we worried a lot. So get more information about weather before leave is sensible, especially preparing for trecking.

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