Trails in Hong Kong
Background: I was born in Hong Kong, and friends in the UK are often fascinated by how much elevation I can easily clock up whenever I visit. I was therefore inspired to write this article.
While the skyscraper-dominating harbour view immediately captures visitors’ imagination, the famous skyline of Hong Kong would not be complete without the range of peaks providing the formidable backdrop.
Sitting firmly on igneous rock rising out of the South China Sea, Hong Kong is paradoxically both an incredibly dense and fast-paced urban jungle for city junkies as well as an oasis for outdoor lovers. This is best explained by the fact that only 24% of the city is built-up area, with the rest remaining undeveloped due to the difficult, hilly terrain. This means no matter where you are in Hong Kong, hills are always within easy reach. It is not uncommon for the locals to start their hikes straight from MTR (Hong Kong’s version of the Underground) stations or even shopping centres!
While Hong Kong is blessed with a network of trails, I am going to focus on the four main trails: Hong Kong Trail, Wilson Trail, MacLehose Trail and Lantau Trail.
A geography lesson
To help you understand the trails better, I will start with a simple description of Hong Kong geography:
- The area to the north is called the New Territories. It borders Shenzhen, a city in China.
- The area to the south of the New Territories is called Kowloon. Kowloon and the New Territories form the peninsula.
- South of the harbour is Hong Kong Island, which is where the main business district can be found.
- There are hundreds of other islands, with Lantau Island being the biggest.
Now that you are familiar with the geography of Hong Kong, let’s hit the trails!
Hong Kong Trail
Length: 50km, Elevation: 1700m approx.
This is the baby one. Only 1700 metres over 50k! It is also arguably the most visited trail in Hong Kong, as the first section of the trail is part of an extremely popular walking loop on Victoria Peak — one of the top tourist spots on Hong Kong Island. Heading west to east, it climbs over a few major peaks, including the Jardine’s Lookout and Mount Butler, before skirting the Tai Tam Reservoir and following the delightful Dragon’s Back to Big Wave Bay.
Wilson Trail
Length: 78km, Elevation: 3800m approx.
The most interesting thing about this trail is perhaps the fact that one would actually have to take an MTR (Hong Kong’s Underground) across the harbour, as it traverses south to north across the whole of Hong Kong, starting from Hong Kong Island, across the harbour to Kowloon, and then deep into the New Territories. Many hikers would be familiar with the formidable, yet accessible, Twins (1000 steps in total — yes trails in Hong Kong go straight up and straight down!) climbing straight out of the popular beach spot of Stanley on Hong Kong Island, while towards the end of the trail, Pat Sing Leng — a truly majestic ridge with eight peaks — is seen as fairly challenging and tends to be tackled by the more experienced.
MacLehose Trail
Length: 100km, Elevation: 5000m approx.
Epic! Don’t get fooled by the start which is along a flat car road. The trail traverses the peninsula (The New Territories and Kowloon) east to west, taking in very diverse landscapes and topping the highest mountain in Hong Kong — Tai Mo Shan. The first two stages offer the most exquisite ocean vista around Sai Kung — you even get to walk along a beach — before the trail reveals its true relentless mountainous character. Along the way, you will pass Lion Rock — the symbol of Hong Kong, encounter militant macaques (hide your food!) and even discover World War II relics.
Lantau Trail
Length: 70km, Elevation: 4000m approx.
Unlike the other trails, the Lantau Trail is a circular loop. Though shorter than the MacLehose Trail, and with less elevation, it is sometimes considered more challenging because of the more remote setting on the Island of Lantau and its terrain. During the first 3 stages, you will have climbed Sunset Peak (passing some fascinating historical mountain huts) and Lantau Peak, which are Hong Kong’s second and third highest mountains. While the sight of the Big Buddha at the end of stage 3 near Ngong Ping is awe-inspiring, in true Hong Kong fashion, the trail also takes you through a shopping village, which seems at odds with the buddhist monastery next door. But, fret not! The trail promptly regains its remote character, taking you through rugged terrain interrupted by only a few remote villages around Lantau, with the best rural mountain vista Hong Kong has to offer.
On the trails
So what is it like running, or hiking, along these trails?
First of all, be prepared to tackle stairs, and lots of stairs! And many sections of the trails are made of tarmac or stones, so don’t expect soft landing too much.
Secondly, don’t underestimate the heat and the humidity. Easy access to trail stages, clear signposting and also the seeming proximity to civilisation, can lead to a false impression that you can get off the trail very easily and you won’t ever get into trouble on some of the easier stages. However, the relentless climbs can take a lot out of you in the humid heat, and people are known to have died from heatstroke or losing their footing due to disorientation.
But ultimately, hiking and running on hills in Hong Kong is such a joyful experience. It provides an instant respite from the hustle and bustle of the city down below.
Events
There are a number of well-known races happening on these trails, such as the Hong Kong 100 (part of the World Trail Majors) and the TransLantau, but the one that is most popular with the locals is probably the Oxfam Trailwalker event. Trailwalker started off as a Gurkha army training event in the 80s, but has since become a hugely popular fund-raising endurance event. Runners and walkers, in teams of four, aim to cover the whole of the MacLehose trail in one go within 48 hours, with winning teams often completing under 12 hours.
But one “event” that best defines, or pays homage to, these venerated trails is the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge. While the rest of Hong Kong is busy celebrating Chinese New Year, a selected group of runners start from one end of the MacLehose Trail and complete all four trails in under 60 hours (or try become a “survivor” by finishing under 72 hours). In 2021, Jacky Leung did the unthinkable and finished in 49 hours 26 minutes, while Wong Ho Chung shaved off another 2.5 hours the year after. The Four Trails movie beautifully captured this truly mind-boggling and brutal challenge.
Take care and enjoy the trails!
