My Yunnan Travel Notes: I’m here waiting for the wind to come - Photos from the trip to Lijiang/Lugu Lake/Shangri-La, Yunnan
http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/17066239.html
Pudacuo National Park originally had three main attractions - Shudu Lake, Bita Sea, and Militang. However, in order to protect a rare fish, two of the attractions are currently closed, and only the Shudu Lake attraction is open. Correspondingly, the ticket price has also been reduced, and the current ticket price is 100 yuan.
In order to enrich tourists’ travel experience, Pudacuo has opened two more hiking routes since 2018. Therefore, tourists can currently enjoy the following three routes (there are many staff at the entrance of Pudacuo Park, and there are staff standing next to the scenic area map who have been explaining the characteristics and distance of these three routes to passing tourists. Friends who are really confused about the hiking route We can go directly to the door and ask the staff):
- Rongluocun
- Shudu Lake Plank Road (the key attraction, you must go, it is the route with the long red arrow in the picture below)
- Tibetan Culture Experience Hiking Route (the route marked by the long yellow arrow in the picture below)
The first Rongluo Village hiking route is in the woods. I didn’t go there, so I can’t comment.
The second one, Shudu Lake Plank Road is the most classic plank road. If you go to Pudacuo, you must go to this hiking route. We walked while taking photos, which took about more than two hours. This hiking route is built along the south bank of Shudu Lake, which is basically equivalent to walking half a circle around Shudu Lake. The entire plank road is a flat wooden plank road, which is very smooth. When tourists reach the end of the plank road, they can take the bus directly back to the gate of the scenic spot. You can also take a free boat ride to the north shore of Shudu Lake, which is the starting point of the third hiking route.
The scenery I saw when I first entered the Shudu Lake Plank Road↓
Like a row of Christmas trees, reflecting the calm lake↓
The lake opposite the lawn is the real Shudu Lake↓
The scenery in the first half of the plank road is a bit similar to a wetland, with a piece of green grass extending into the lake↓
Green grass actually grows in moist mud. In some places where there is a lot of water flow, it will look like a shallow stream. There are many yellow, purple and blue flowers growing on the grass↓
The second half of the plank road gradually entered the woods. The characteristic of the woods is the “bearded tree”. Its scientific name is usnea, which only grows in places with good air quality↓
In the woods, we encountered small squirrels several times. They were not afraid of people and would even look for food at close range. But in fact, in order to protect the biological chain, it is best for humans not to feed wild animals↓
From time to time you can see fallen trees in the woods, which have blended into the scenery↓
The roots of the fallen tree were much taller than me, which shows how strong a tree it once was.
After visiting the Shudu Lake Plank Road, you can take a free boat ride at the end of the plank road to the third hiking route——
Tibetan culture experience hiking route.
The third Tibetan culture experience hiking route is along the north shore of Shudu Lake. This section is almost half the length of Shudu Lake. It is equivalent to taking a circle from the north shore of Shudu Lake and returning to the second hiking route Shudu. The starting point of Duhu Plank Road. There are some Tibetan tents at the starting point of this section, selling food, and you can have lunch here. The third hiking route is a hiking route that has not been developed much. Some roads are dirt roads, and some muddy places are paved with wooden slats. Although this line surrounds Shudu Lake, because the trees along the coast have not been cut down, the views in many places are blocked by trees, which makes it feel a bit like a primeval forest. Although this road is about the same length as the second road, it is more difficult to walk, so the hiking time will be slightly longer.
The picture below was taken at the pier. I don’t know why, but I feel that this place is particularly in line with my idea of “Shangri-La”↓
This hiking route starts in the woods and the road is quite muddy.
Sometimes I see moss and wildflowers on the roadside that are also very beautiful. For example, on the rock wall in the picture below, there is a large field of small purple wildflowers↓
The woods along the way feel like a tunnel↓
Walking to the second half of the hiking route, it turned into a wetland landscape again. We also saw a large area of ”bugloss”, also called “butter grass”, its flowers are yellow. It is called bugloss by the locals because the leaves resemble a cow’s tongue. Legend has it that the Bull Demon King offended a certain god, so the tongue was cut off and thrown into the mortal world. It grew into bugloss, and the cow never Eat bugloss (the scientific explanation is that cattle and sheep don’t like to eat bugloss because it is bitter). It is also called butter grass because local herders use the leaves to wrap butter.
Dense small yellow flowers in the green grass beside the lake↓
To sum up, the Tibetan Culture Experience Hiking Route and the Shudu Lake Plank Road Hiking Route are basically opposites. The Tibetan Culture Route is woods-wetland, and the Shudu Lake Plank Road is wetland-woods. However, the scenery of the Shudu Lake Plank Road is more beautiful, and the plank road is easier to walk. If you want to experience the “original ecology”, you can take the Tibetan Culture Experience Hiking Route.
Although some people feel after going to Pudacuo that this is just a lake and a mountain, and there seems to be nothing special about it.
But I like Pudacuo very much. I feel that it makes people feel very peaceful.
My Yunnan Travel Notes: I’m here waiting for the wind to come - Photos from the trip to Lijiang/Lugu Lake/Shangri-La, Yunnan
http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/17066239.html
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