10 spectacular hiking trails in Hong Kong
You may think of Hong Kong as a bustling metropolis, but a short distance from its urban core are a selection of walking trails, inviting you to explore the city’s little-known natural side…
Don’t be fooled by its bustling urban outlook: Hong Kong also encompasses mountains, forested hills, coastline and countryside, the perfect terrain for a hiking excursion. Trails around Hong Kong are well-marked and accessible from the city, and within a short car or bus ride, you’ll be able to explore some of Asia’s friendliest hiking spots.
Here, we introduce some of the best hiking paths which intertwine the history of Hong Kong, the culture of Buddhism and the natural world.
1. Pok Fu Lam to The Peak
Route: Pok Fu Lam Reservoir → Lugard Road → The Peak Tower → High West
Level: Easy
Distance: 6 km
Duration: 2.5 hours
A short bus ride from Central leads you to the Pok Fu Lam Reservoir, Hong Kong’s first reservoir. Instead of riding the famous Peak Tram, climb to the summit of the The Peak on foot, with cityscape views to reward your efforts from the top. Complete the hike by following the Lugard Road loop, then ascend the steps up to High West to take in more vistas, best enjoyed at sunset.
2. Cape D’Aguilar
Route: Cape D’Aguilar Road → Cape D’Aguilar Lighthouse → Bokhara Battery → Thunder Cave → Crab Cave
Level: Easy
Distance: 9 km
Duration: 3 hours
Starting with scenic coastal views of the South China Sea, follow the Cape D’Aguilar Road to the radio transmitting station. Take the grassy path on the left, before reaching Hok Tsui Beacon, a 19th-century lighthouse declared a national monument of Hong Kong. A hidden path on the left leads you to Thunder Cave, where you can experience the storm-like sounds of crashing waves. Back onto the main path, a large whale skeleton awaits. Another highlight of the hike can be found close to its end: Crab Cave is a sea-eroded rock formation that stuns with its crustacean-resembling shape.
3. Lau Shui Heung and Hok Tau Reservoir
Route: Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve → Sha Lo Tung → Hok Tau Reservoir → Lau Shui Heung Reservoir
Level: Intermediate
Distance: 7 km
Duration: 3 hours
Situated in the picturesque Pat Sin Leng Country Park, this hiking trail starts at a nature butterfly reserve and bypasses the plateau habitat of rare species of dragonflies and damselflies. Walking alongside the streams which make up the freshwater wetland before arriving at the ‘mirror of the sky’ – a view of the tranquil water of the Lau Shui Heung Reservoir reflecting the lush woods and skies. The scene is even more stunning on a clear autumn day, when the bushes turn into hues of yellow and red.
4. Tai Mo Shan
Route: Rotary Park → Tai Mo Shan Country Park Visitor Centre → Tai Mo Shan Road & Tai Mo Shan Lookout → Weather Radar Station
Level: Intermediate
Distance: 4 km
Duration: 2 hours
On Hong Kong’s tallest mountain and an extinct volcano, with an altitude of 957 metres, you can catch a perfect sunrise, with a view of the awakening city against a mountainous backdrop. The mountain showcases different colours with seasons – from pink cherry blossoms and wild lilies bloom in spring and summer to golden miscanthus in autumn. Even cloudy days make for a scenic hike.
5. Dragon’s Back
Route: Shek O Peninsula Viewing Point → Shek O Peak → Dragon’s Back & Pottinger Gap → Big Wave Bay
Level: Intermediate
Distance: approx. 8.5 km
Duration: 4 hours
The undulating mountain ridge almost depicts a dragon perched atop the mountain, giving it the name of ‘Dragon’s Back’. This particular dragon is resting at the southeast corner of Hong Kong Island, with this route cutting across Shek O Peak where views across the coastal peninsula and countryside await. Tread along forested hillsides and avoid tripping over bumpy tree roots, and exposed rocks before the trail ends at the white sands of Big Wave Bay Beach.
6. High Island Reservoir
Route: High Island Reservoir East Dam → Biu Tsim Kok → Hexagonal Rock Columns → Fault Breccia Belt → Distorted Rock Columns → Sea Cave
Level: Easy
Distance: 4.3 km
Duration: 3 hours
Around 140 million years ago, a supervolcano erupted in Hong Kong, forming the towering cliff faces and hexagonal rock columns that are spotted along this Geo Trail, located within a UNESCO Global Geopark next to the High Island Reservoir. The trail is a snippet of the MacLehose Trail, Hong Kong’s first long-distance hiking trail that spans 100 km. Along the way you’ll find sea caves and sea stacks formed over thousands of years before reaching the the peak of Biu Tsim Kok, looking out across the bay of Long Ke Wan.
7. Tai Lam Country Park
Route: Tam Lam Country Park → Tai Tong Sweetgum Woods → Reservoir Islands Viewpoint → Tai Lam Chung Reservoir → Golden Beach
Level: Intermediate
Distance: 11.5 km
Duration: 4 hours
After a few hours of hard work treading past streams, forests and the Sweet Gum Woods that turn ochre in autumn, you’ll be rewarded by views of emerald islets scattering calm waters of Thousand Island Lake in Tai Lam Chung Reservoir. In the past, the small islands were actually hills before being flooded by catchwater when the reservoir was built. The trail ends at one of Hong Kong’s most popular beaches, the Golden Beach.
8. Shing Mun Reservoir
Route: Pineapple Dam Nature Trail → Paperbark Tree Corridor → Paperbark Tree Grove → Viewing Point → Main Dam → War Relics Trail
Level: Easy
Distance: 9.5 km
Duration: 3 hours
The reservoir offers wildlife encounters and war-time history along its easily accessible trails. Along its luscious forested trails you’ll find butterflies, monkeys, cattle and wild pigs. Stroll along the reservoir lanes to enjoy a mixture of flowing streams and serene water, or take the War Relics Trail to learn about the city’s history during the WWII.
9. Ngong Ping
Route: Po Lin Monastery & Tian Tan Buddha → Dong Shan Fa Mun & the Nei Lak Shan Country Trail → Wisdom Path → Shek Pik Reservoir
Level: Intermediate
Distance: 14 km
Duration: 5.5 hours
Situated on the Lantau Island’s Lantau Peak, Ngong Ping plateau takes you to a spiritual walk in Buddhist culture surrounded by nature’s beauty. Start off by the hilltop Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car for a panoramic view of Lantau’s rolling terrain, then visit the traditional Chinese architecture in Ngong Ping Village, before heading to the Grand Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas and see the architectural designs inspired by Song, Ming and Qing dynasty in the 115-year-old Po Lin Monastery. The Big Buddha statue, also known as Tian Tan Buddha, is one of the world’s largest seated outdoor Buddha statues. After that, visit the Wisdom Path with an installation featuring calligraphy carved into 38 wooden columns standing between eight to 10 metres height.
10. Tung O Ancient Trail
Route: Yat Tung Estate → Hau Hok Wan → Sha Lo Wan → San Shek Wan → Sham Shek Tsuen → Sham Wat → Tai O
Level: Intermediate
Distance: 13 km
Duration: 4 hours
Once a historic route used by local residents to travel between Tung Chung and Tai O, this semi-coastal trail provides a scenic walk with Hong Kong’s old villages scattered along the way. Settlements like the San Shek Wan Village and Sham Wat Village tell stories of the city’s past, and several branching side routes allow you to stop by historic and natural attractions, such as the Tung Chung Battery, Sha Lo Wan Pier, and the sea erosion cave at San Shek Wan. Explore the fishing island of Tai O, where you may opt for an additional picturesque hike at Fu Shan for sunset views.
