How to Tour Around Lugu Lake: The Complete 70 km Loop Guide

The loop road around the lake is about 70 km and can be done in a day, about 4-5 hours if you stop to photograph along the way. Our top tip is to go clockwise: start from Daluoshui, pass Lige, Nise, Luyuan Cliff and the Caohai Walking Marriage Bridge, and arrive just in time at Goddess Bay (女神湾) for sunset. How you get around depends on numbers and budget: drive yourself if you can; if you don't want to drive, ask your hotel or guesthouse to arrange a charter or carpool. We don't recommend looping the whole lake on an electric scooter.

How to choose how you get around

Chartered car / carpool (the first choice when you're not driving yourself): in low season about ¥200-230 per day, around ¥300 in peak season. The driver doubles as your guide, and you stop and photograph whenever you like. Having your hotel or guesthouse book the car is the least hassle: the owner can't disappear on you, the drivers they work with are long-standing regulars, and nothing too outrageous is likely to happen; hotels and guesthouses can also help match carpool partners, so when there happen to be two couples or a single traveller, splitting the car works out cheaper per person.

Self-drive (the most straightforward way to loop): if you have a car, drive yourself - free timing, stop whenever you want. Parts of the loop road are narrow, bendy and busy with oncoming traffic, so watch for falling rocks in the rainy season. Driving an EV is no problem either: Lugu Lake has plenty of charging points, including fast-charging stations, and some hotels and guesthouses even have slow-charging points.

Rented electric scooter (not recommended for the loop): the electric bikes by the lake nowadays are mostly shared rental scooters, and not cheap; the loop has lots of mountain road, a single lane each way, and heavy traffic, so riding is dangerous - we don't recommend circling the whole lake on an e-bike. There are no charging points midway either, so don't count on topping up along the way.

The clockwise loop route

Daluoshui Village → Lige viewpoint (full view of the heart-shaped bay) → Nise Village (Lover's Beach, lakeside boardwalk) → Mount Gemu (optional cableway up to overlook the whole lake) → Luyuan Cliff → Sichuan Lover's Beach → Caohai Walking Marriage Bridge → Luowa Pier → Goddess Bay (sunset) → back to Daluoshui.

The whole loop is about 70 km. Set off in the daytime so you reach Goddess Bay before sunset. If you're short on time, do half a loop: in the morning from Daluoshui to Lige and Nise, and in the afternoon along the Caohai and Walking Marriage Bridge stretch.

Key stops along the way

Lige viewpoint: the best spot for the full panorama of the heart-shaped bay. Free, and worth a stop if you're passing.

Caohai Walking Marriage Bridge (走婚桥): a wooden bridge spanning Caohai. Free. In June-August the wetland is green; from September to November the reeds turn golden - a must-stop on the loop.

Goddess Bay (女神湾): it faces Mount Gemu head-on, and at sunset the lake surface turns to gilded light. It's the one stop on the whole loop worth waiting for; free. Arrive half an hour early to claim a good spot for the sunset.

Mount Gemu (格姆女神山): optional cableway up (reference price ¥110, with discounts for booking online); from the top you get a 360° view over the whole lake. If you'd rather not pay, there's a boardwalk trail to hike.

Pig-trough boat (猪槽船): you can board at piers such as Daluoshui and Luowa. Shared boats work out to about ¥90-150 per person (priced by route). In the morning, when there's no wind, the lake surface is at its flattest; to see the water flowers, come in June-September and set off early.

Tickets and costs

You buy the entry ticket at the gate: adult ¥70 at the Yunnan-side entrance, ¥70 at the Sichuan-side entrance. The Sichuan-side entrance has one special policy: visitors with a Zhejiang household registration enter free on showing their ID (a local pairing-aid policy). The ticket is checked only once, at entry; once inside, there are no further checks on either the Sichuan or Yunnan side, and as long as you don't leave the scenic area it stays valid - whether you stay a few days or a month, you won't be charged again.

Natural sights like the Walking Marriage Bridge, Caohai and the viewpoints along the loop have no ticket booth and were never meant to charge; only a few indoor venues such as the Mosuo Museum sell separate tickets. The pig-trough boats, the cableway and the bonfire party (reference ¥30 per person) are all optional.

Drivers, note on parking: the Daluoshui tourist centre is being rebuilt (expected to take another year), and the large car park that used to hold a whole lot of cars is now out of use; parking inside Daluoshui village is tight and hard to find. Caohai and the Walking Marriage Bridge have free car parks but they're often full, and when they're full, parking on local farmers' private land will cost you ¥10-20. Staying at a guesthouse usually means free parking, so confirm a parking spot when you book.

Loop pitfalls to avoid

Lugu Lake has no city buses or metro, and no public shuttle between villages; after 6 p.m. there are basically no official transfer vehicles, so don't wait around too late.
When booking a car, ask your hotel or guesthouse to arrange it - don't hail one on the roadside. The roadside touts quote low prices, then risk marking up mid-trip or taking you to shopping stops.
We don't recommend circling the lake on an e-bike: mountain road plus one lane each way plus heavy traffic - safety first.
In peak season (July-August, National Day) the loop road is busy, so setting off off-peak makes for a better experience.

*Information verified: September 2026. Fares and departures follow the day's posted notices at the scenic area.*