I declare that Lugu Lake is my second hometown!

Family, I just "dream-walked" back from Lugu Lake and I have to share this happiness with you! 🌄 Best travel time: Lugu Lake is beautiful all year round, but I highly recommend March to May and September to November! From March to May, the lake surface looks like it's sprinkled with stars, full of water poppies, so romantically irresistible. From September to November, Caohai is "dyed" by autumn colors, with red leaves reflecting in the lake, making every photo a perfect wallpaper. If you want to experience lively ethnic festivals, don't miss the Gemu Goddess Mountain Pilgrimage Festival on the 25th day of the 7th lunar month and the Naxi Torch Festival on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month. The bonfire party in Dazhu Village will definitely make you dance nonstop! 🚗 Transportation guide: For long-distance travel, flying directly to Ninglang Lugu Lake Airport is the most convenient. After landing, take the airport shuttle bus to Daloushui Village, which takes only 1 hour. To save money, you can carpool (100-150 RMB/person) or take a bus (81 RMB/person) from Lijiang or Xichang, but it takes longer, about 5-6 hours. Once at Lugu Lake, I strongly recommend renting a car (300 RMB/car/day) or a bicycle (50 RMB/day) to circle the lake, so you can stop anytime to enjoy the beautiful scenery slowly. 🌟 Must-visit attractions: 1. Gemu Goddess Mountain: Take the cable car to explore the stalactite cave. In 2025, a new "Sky Mirror" viewing platform will be added, where you can overlook the heart-shaped lake panorama as if you could touch the sky. Remember to go early in the morning when there are fewer people to capture stunning shots. 2. Walking Marriage Bridge + Caohai: Stroll along the 300-meter wooden boardwalk and listen to the Mosuo people tell their unique marriage customs, feeling like stepping into a mysterious love story. At 6 a.m., there is the "Caohai Pastoral Song" event where you can ride a pig trough boat to harvest aquatic plants. At dusk, the upgraded lights on the Walking Marriage Bridge make it look magical, and a night tour feels like a fairy tale. 3. Lige Peninsula: This place surrounded by the lake on three sides is the beauty icon of Lugu Lake! Take a pig trough boat to explore the sea of water poppies, as if entering Monet’s garden. In 2025, the "Starry Sky Glass House" will open. Staying here at night means waking up to a dazzling Milky Way, so romantic it brings tears! Use a drone to shoot the heart-shaped lake bay from above, wear a bright-colored long dress, and every photo looks like a magazine cover. 4. Goddess Bay Sunset: Enjoy rich coffee at the cliffside café while admiring the "golden glow spilling over the lake" view, so relaxing you might want to retire on the spot. Then visit a Mosuo family, make butter tea by hand, and experience local life. Remember to reserve a spot before 6 p.m. for stunning backlit silhouette photos. 5. Lover’s Beach: Newly added are the popular swing and love post office. As the Mosuo youth’s love landmark, single friends might even encounter romantic love here. At 10 a.m., the soft light is perfect for shooting the sky mirror reflection. 6. Dazhu Village Intangible Cultural Heritage: Experience ancient crafts at the Dongba paper-making/painting workshop and feel the passage of time. During the Torch Festival, join everyone in the Jia Cuo dance for a super lively atmosphere. You can also book a fire pit dinner to enjoy delicious food while listening to Naxi folk songs—this is what travel should be like. 🍜 Taste of Lugu Lake: 1. Pork fat meat: The Mosuo people's signature dish, fatty but not greasy. Eating freshly sliced meat in a grandmother’s house is incredibly fragrant. 2. Water Poppy Soup: Petals paired with lake fish, unbelievably fresh. One sip of the soup makes you feel completely healed by Lugu Lake. 3. Butter tea + Buckwheat cake: The Mosuo breakfast staple. Butter tea is rich and mellow, buckwheat cake is fragrant and soft, one bite fills you with energy. 4. Good People Snacks (Goddess Bay): Matsutake mushroom stewed with native chicken only costs 30 RMB and is very filling, great value for money. 5. Lige Zhaxi’s place: Fire pit roasted suckling pig paired with Sulima wine, only 50 RMB per person. Eat big bites of meat and drink big gulps of wine, super satisfying. 🏡 Accommodation guide: 1. Lake view lovers: Choose the Cloud Manlu Smart Hotel in Langfang Village, with a private dock. You can enjoy the flower sea as soon as you wake up—truly a dream room. 2. Culture lovers: Don’t miss the Mosuo wooden log house homestay on Lige Peninsula. Join the family fire pit dinner for an immersive Mosuo cultural experience. 3. Budget-conscious: The lake view inn in Daloushui Village can be booked for 200 RMB per night, just a 5-minute walk to the lake, no need for a bike. The half-mountain inn is also popular in 2025, with fewer people and beautiful views, but real lake view rooms must be booked 3 months in advance. ⚠️ Pitfall avoidance guide: 1. Transportation traps: Avoid low-cost tours as they may shorten boat time, leaving you unsatisfied. If renting a car, be sure to sign a contract and clarify the route to avoid being scammed. 2. Shopping tricks: Silverware and medicinal herbs are overpriced, don’t buy impulsively. If you want souvenirs, handmade tie-dye scarves are great and reasonably priced at 50-80 RMB. 3. Environmental rules: The beauty of Lugu Lake needs our joint protection. Do not pick saxaul grass, take your trash with you, and don’t disturb the black-necked cranes on the Caohai boardwalk. Dear friends, Lugu Lake is really amazing to explore. Take this guide and set off quickly. Trust me, once you go, you won’t want to come back!