Lugu Lake Off-the-Beaten-Path Route | Experience Sugar-Core Apple Picking

Autumn Off-the-Beaten-Path Guide to Lugu Lake (Including Sugar-Core Apple Picking Guide)

1. Core Preparation: Timing and Basic Information

1. Best Travel Time

🧡- Comprehensive Experience Period: Mid-October to November, when sugar-core apples are in peak production, with a sugar-core rate over 70%. The autumn at Lugu Lake is crisp and clear, with little rain on the lake surface, ideal for lake tours and sightseeing.
- Apple Picking Golden Period: After the Frost's Descent (around late October), the large temperature difference between day and night allows sugars to fully settle, making the sugar core around the apple seeds most obvious, with a crisp, sweet, and juicy taste.

2. Accommodation Recommendations
🧡Lugu Lake Xiwu Yu Lake View Designer Hotel is located 240 meters north of Daluoshu Pier, Daluoshu Lower Village, Luoshui Village Committee, Yongning Town, Ninglang County, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province. The hotel is close to Daluoshu Village, with convenient dining and transportation nearby, and is near attractions such as the Mosuo traditional bonfire party venue and the pig trough boat lake tour pier.

3. Tickets and Transportation

🧡- Tickets: Lugu Lake Scenic Area ticket costs about 70 RMB per person. No extra ticket is required for apple picking; pricing is by weight.
- Transportation:
🧡- Self-driving: About 4 hours from Lijiang, 3 hours from Xichang to Yanyuan, then 2 more hours to reach, with orchards along the way for visits.
🧡- Public Transport: There are direct buses from Lijiang Bus Station to Lugu Lake with multiple daily departures. Upon arrival, renting an electric bike or chartering a car to circle the lake is recommended for easier access to picking spots.

2. Complete Guide to Sugar-Core Apple 🍎 Picking

1. Recommended Picking Locations

🧡- Zhipu Village Organic Orchard: Located within the Lugu Lake Nature Reserve, it is an organic certified base. Apples are grown naturally without bagging or waxing. Visitors can tour the planting environment, and farmers will explain the differences between varieties.

2. Picking and Purchasing Tips

🧡- Picking Tips: Choose fruits with natural spots on the skin and a strong apple aroma. Hold the apple with one hand and gently twist the stem with the other to pick it without damaging the branches.
🧡- Purchasing Standards:
🧡- Varieties: Mainly late-maturing Red Fuji, with Red General being early-maturing, crisp, and sweet, and Venus Golden maturing after National Day.
🧡- Size: Small apples (6.5-7.4 cm) are suitable for personal consumption, large apples (above 8.0 cm) are good for gifts. The 10-jin (5 kg) boxed package offers good value.
🧡- Misconceptions: Sugar core is a natural phenomenon; apples without sugar core are equally sweet and should not be judged by this alone.
🧡- Price Reference: Priced by size grade, starting at 68 RMB for a 10-jin boxed package with free shipping. Orchard fresh-picked prices range from about 2 to 6 RMB per jin.