Puzhehei

Puzhehei is a basin of interconnected shallow lakes and channels among several hundred small karst cones, farmed and fished by Yi and Miao villages, and its season is the lotus bloom: from June through September the water is covered in leaves and pink flowers that stand well above the surface, and punts are poled along cut channels between them. Bicycles circle the lakes on paths between villages, cones are climbed for overviews, and caves run through several of the hills. In summer, boat fights in which passengers soak each other with basins of water are a local custom that visitors are drawn into.

What you actually see

• The lotus lakes - open water covered in leaves and flowers in summer.
• The punt channels - boats poled through cut lanes in the lotus.
• The karst cones - hundreds of small hills around the basin.
• The water fights - boat-to-boat soaking as a summer custom.

When to go

June to September for the lotus, which is the whole point; outside that the lakes are bare and the visit far less rewarding. Summer is hot and wet, and the water fights are unavoidable on the boats.

Honest expectations

Outside the bloom the site is ordinary. Entry plus boat is expensive. Boats get soaked in the water games, so cameras and phones need protection.

Nearby

Kunming lies northwest; the Guangxi border is east.