Most tourists know Hong Kong only as a concrete jungle with blinding neon lights and a shopping and food haven. What many people are missing out are the gorgeous views of nature which can only be seen if you go hiking, normally at the outskirts.
There are many hiking trails in Hong Kong varying in length and difficulty and a lot are located in the country parks in the New Territories, e.g. Sai Kung East and West Country Parks, Tai Lam Country Park, Tai Mo Shan Country Park, and outlying islands like Lantau Island and Lamma Island.
Depending on where you live / stay, it can easily take more than an hour to get to these trails if you use the public transportation.
For those who find the travelling cumbersome or a waste of time (the latter of which I totally disagree!), there are also “urban trails” within the city that can give you a good workout simply because Hong Kong is so hilly! Not forgetting a photo opportunity of the beautiful city too.
More details and photos of the different trails I’ve been to will be included in my later posts. In the meantime if anyone is interested to know more, there are many published books containing details and maps about the different hiking trails available and they are on sale in the bookstores right here in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Tourism website.
DiscoverHongkong is also a good source of information for the major / famous trails with details like the levels of difficulty, the duration taken to complete (may not be accurate depending on how fast you walk – we took about 4.5hours for a 7 hours’ trail) and instructions on how to get there. AspirantSG also has a blog entry on his hiking experience on Pat Na Shan (Mount Butler) & Jardine’s Lookout.
Hiking is a popular activity among the locals and I think it should also form part of your itinerary the next time you visit Hong Kong (spring or autumn are the better months for hiking). Not only will you get to burn off some of those calories after all the food binging (who doesn’t binge whilst in Hong Kong?!), you can appreciate Hong Kong more by getting away from all the people-madness in the city.
About The Guest Blogger
Dariel Lim (@wheresdariel) is a Singaporean who lived in Dubai for 6 years before moving to Hong Kong in 2012. She had travelled to countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Kenya, Europe, etc. and shares her itineraries and stories on http://wheresdariel.com.
