Take the lake road slowly, and think twice about the scooter

The road around Erhai is the point of Dali: villages, fields, water on one side and a four-thousand-metre ridge on the other. Doing the loop in a day is possible; doing half of it in two is better.

Electric scooters are rented everywhere, but check what the shop's insurance actually covers, wear the helmet, and remember that a foreign driving licence is not valid here. Bicycles, the public bus and a hired car with a driver all cover the same road without the paperwork.