A view of the city on the way to Lion Rock. — Photos: KOO WEE HON
My wife and I had always wanted to hike again in Hong Kong after our unforgettable experience in 2018. So, last December, we did just that – we went back to the city to explore new trails and did some off-the-beaten track sightseeing too.
We arrived during a really cold spell and to acclimatise, we went for walks near our accommodation, a little hamlet on the fringe of the Ma On Shan Country Park. We came across Tsang Tai Uk, a Hakka village built in 1874 by the Tsang clan.
The outer walls of the village are high and inside there is a courtyard, a few halls and living quarters. It is well preserved, and was probably undergoing some restoration work when we were there, as we saw Hong Kong’s famous bamboo scaffolding in some parts.
The Hong Kong Heritage Museum, meanwhile, showcased the city’s pop culture and arts heritage, with sections dedicated to icons like Anita Mui and Bruce Lee.
The next morning, we were ready for our hike and decided to try a trail at the Ma On Shan Country Park. It led us through some abandoned villages and down to the coastal town of Sai Kung – the hike was approximately 10km. From Sai Kung we took a boat to Sharp Island, which is famous for its “pineapple bun rock” and the tombolo that connects it to a neighbouring island.
We went on a “Dark Side of Hong Kong” guided tour the next day, covering Flower Street, Goldfish Street and Bird Street. Our guide told us wonderful stories of each of the streets.
The couple at Sharp Island, standing on the tombolo. When the tide is low enough, you can walk on the tombolo to get the next island. — KOO WEE HON
He also took us to see one of Hong Kong’s infamous “cage homes”, a tiny apartment fitted with human-sized cages rented out to adults as their living space or room. It was pretty grim.
We continued our holiday with a hike at Lion Rock. Resembling a crouching lion, the place has a spectacular view of Kowloon and the city centre. There are a few lookout points there, said to signify the different parts of a lion – these places are crowded with hikers taking photos.
From there, we pressed on to Amah Rock that’s shaped like a woman with a child on her back. Legend has it that a woman’s fisherman husband had gone out to sea, but never came back. She kept waiting for him on top of the hill, carrying their child with her.
The reader at Cape D'Aguilar.
Another trail we checked out was the Cape D’Aguilar, a marine reserve at the tip of the island. This is a nice and easy stroll of 4km, and most people do the hike for the caves that were formed from the crashing of the waves.
Here you can climb the jagged rocks by the shore then lay down, close your eyes and relax your mind while listening to the sound of crashing waves. If only all hiking destinations were like this!
The next hike was through the Tai Tam Reservoir Trail to Stanley, a distance of 10km. It was easy enough to do until the last part where we faced a 3km-long killer trek, going up and down more than 2,800 steps. Every time we came to a blind bend, we prayed that the trail would flatten out, but instead what we saw were another flight of steps – our knees and thighs were “crying” for us to stop!
This was really the toughest hike we had ever done in Hong Kong.
To recover from that hike, we went to Cheung Chau island the next day. It is an hour’s ferry ride away from the city and is known for its seafood restaurants. It was a pleasant day trip for us, as we sauntered lazily along the streets filled with craft shops, hipster cafes, temples, hilly lookout points and beaches, and sampled local delicacies and seafood.
The pineapple bun rock, a geological wonder of volcanic rock at Sharp Island.
The reader's wife at a place where you can leave your love locks behind.
One standout attraction was a place where an enterprising land owner sold locks to travellers and allowed them to put their “love locks” on a large fence he had erected.
The 12km-long Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail was once a trading route between two major towns before a connecting road nearby was built. Although there was nothing outstanding about the trail, it was heartening to see ancient trails like this one being maintained and preserved in modern Hong Kong.
Our last hike was to the city’s highest peak and extinct volcano, Tai Mo Shan at 957m. There are many trails to the peak (you can even drive up to a certain point and hike the last few kilometres) but we decided on the waterfall route which passed through four waterfalls in the jungle.
You can see free-roaming protected cows lazing and chewing grass on the way to the peak. It is a very popular trail.
The view from the Cheung Chau island waterfront at dusk.
The views expressed are entirely the reader’s own.
