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Lashi Lake is located in the Yunnan Province and is just a 30 minute ride away from Lijiang city. It is a national wetland reserve and known for its birds, canoeing, fishing and horseback riding at the country side. I went to Lashi Lake during my annual trip with my son. If you plan a Yunnan itinerary and need an additional day of activities I highly recommend adding Lashi Lake. Join me there and I give you some tips to avoid the scams especially at the horseback riding outlets.
Lashi Lake
Lashi Lake Wetland reserve is located 10 kilometers south of Lijiang and makes a perfect day trip from there. Its altitude is at 2500 meters and the lake is well-known for its abundant bird life. You will find beautiful nature around it and see local fishermen fishing at the lake. The lake can be visited year round but best in good weather. The main activities you can do are taking a horseback riding tour which includes normally also a boating tour. Go fishing with one of the locals and have the fish grilled for a nice pick nick at the lake shore to finish the day.
CHINA – A two-week Yunnan itinerary travel guide: Kunming to Shangri-La
Horseback riding at Lashi Lake
If you are a foreigner and do not speak Chinese be sure to get scammed and ripped-off. You will pay too much for a too short ride. My tour through the Yunnan province was guided by a guide from Rural China who knew the best local spots and helped avoiding the scams. I do speak a bit of Chinese but in some cases a guide is simply a must have. Once you arrive at the horse stables there will be signs with prices for various tours. A fact is these are not fixed and we did a 2-3 hour tour for half price. We did not get ripped off in any way.
We got on our horses and off we went following the old tea routes as we did earlier during our Yunnan itinerary in Shaxi. Through dense pine forest and along beautiful lakes and streams. The path is at certain points pretty steep so make sure you don’t fall off. At the top there is a beautiful view over Lake Lashi. After a small stop about halfway to give the horses some rest we continued back to the stables. En route you will see some people trying to sell stuff; just ignore them unless you want to buy something.
CHINA – A two-week Yunnan itinerary travel guide: Kunming to Shangri-La
Canoeing and boating on Lake Lashi
After the horseback riding we were brought by car to the shore where a 45 minute boating tour was included. You can buy freshly grilled fish on the lake from fishermen. Be sure to negotiate the price! My son went in a canoe instead of a boat. This was at a small extra fee of about 30 RMB if I remember correctly. Not expensive at all. There are a few smaller activities like shooting with bow and arrow for kids around the area too.
We did not make it too late at Lake Lashi and returned to our Indigo Lijiang hotel late afternoon for a private BBQ in the garden of our luxury villa. A nice end of our time in Lijiang. The next day we would continue to Shang-ri La to explore the Potatso National Park which was the last stop of the Yunnan itinerary. We did fly onwards to Tibet and spend 7 days in Lhasa. The last part of our annual trip through China.
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Did you visit Lashi Lake too or do you have questions? Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. Love to hear from you!
Gallery Lake Lashi
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