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 prepare for your journey. Stay overnight at a local hotel.

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

On the third day, it's a 7-hour trek to Liuqing Village. The first part of the hiking is very hard as you will ascent from 1788m to 2499m (Taiziguan Pass). After descending from the summit of the pass, the beautiful Crown Gorge looks much thinner and quieter. Instead of climbing over two steep mountains, you can use tunnels that were  dug by hand many years ago.  You will find the blue sky very lovely after the darkness of the tunnels. Then pass through 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 level or downward sloping. En route, you will pass three villages. Stay overnight in Fengke Village.

On the fifth day, hike about 6 hours to Gewa Village (2650m) via Labo. Fengke Village is on the bank of the Jinshajiang River. Walk for about 1 hour to arrive at Genang ferry. Take a boat across the Jinshajiang River and enter  Labo Village, which is a autonomous village of the Moso Minority. Then climb uphill for about 2 to 3 hours till you find the road to the Gewa Village.  It's about a 30- minute walk to Gewa Village. After a short rest, go on walking for 2 more hours to reach today's destination, Zhuangzi Village. Both the Yi and the Lisu minorities live here. Stay overnight in the village.

On the sixth day, depart Zhuangzi Village and  hike 2 hours through a virgin forest to arrive at the entrance of the mountain  at an altitide of 3000 meters. From here you can see Lugu Lake in the distance. Climb down the mountain and 2 hours later, you will arrive at Yangpi Village of the Yi Minority. Two hours further hiking brings you to Yongning Village. Yongning Village is 20km from Lugu Lake. You can hire a car for the 30-minute drive to Lugu Lake. Stay overnight at a local guest house in the village near the lake.

Mosuo Minority people

On the seventh day, drive back to Lijiang. Make a few stops along the way. First, stop at Ninglang County (about 2 hours drive from Lugu Lake) for a visit to the local bazaar. Between Ninglang and Lijiang, lie some small villages, so stop from time to time to have a short visit. It takes about 7 hours to drive from Lugu Lake back to Lijiang. Stay overnight at a guest house in Lijiang.

On the last day, leave Lijiang whenever you please.