The Ridges and Undulating Slopes of Hong Kong Mountains

July 24, 2021

Places I Had Visited In Hong Kong (The Countrysides)

Fascinating View Of Hong Kong's Monasteries

From countrysides to monasteries, next are the mountains.

Every time I am exhausted at work, I always wanted to disconnect myself from the world, from my work, and the city. And one way to do it is to go to the farthest places and on top of the mountain is where I can find the real tranquility and relaxing ambiance. Away from any form of technology and the noise of the city. All you can see are foliage, and from the top is the blue sea, which is helping the hikers unwind and temporarily forget the toxic job, people, and reality.

Let's start...

Dragon's Back Mountain

This mountain is one of the best urban hikes in Asia and was featured in Time Magazine. It got its name because the mountain's ridges resemble a dragon's back. It's a 10 km trail that would take almost 4 hours to reach the peak.

It was my very first time hiking a four-hour trail in my entire existence. We went there last December 31, 2017, as our New Year's hike.

This mountain is located just near the Shek-O beach which I had mentioned in my previous article. From the sightseeing platform near the peak, you can see the shoreline of Hong Kong island, as well as beaches like Big Wave Bay and the Shek-O beach, even the Lamma Island on a clear day. Hikers can eat their food on this platform and take a rest. Just be careful with your steps if you don't want to bang your head on the rocky platform, or slide down the mountain. (I broke my new phone here 😅. It fell while having a video call with my mother.)

We have also seen visitors paragliding from the top, and some hikers choose to go down the beaches and enjoy surfing or soak their bodies on the water before heading home.

I hope I could go back to this mountain again.

Kai Kung Leng Mountain

Kai Kung Leng is located in Lam Tsuen Country Park. If the mountain above resembles a dragon's back, the ridges of this mountain resemble a rooster, that's what they have said 😅.

It was March 2018 when we hike there to celebrate Abby's (my friend) birthday. Hong Kong is blessed with fascinating ridges that allow us to take a break from the chaos. But the trail wasn't that convenient though. So if you want to visit this mountain, be sure to wear the perfect shoes.

The mountain will be entirely covered with green pasture or brown dried grass depending on the season. And they have said that, from the summit, you can see the rare sight of Shenzen China's skyline on a clear day, as well as a scenic view of New Territories HK. I only learned about this after our hike, lol. Maybe that far place on the photo was the Shenzen, not sure though.

Have you read about the Wetland Garden?

Before we went to that garden, we first hiked the most visited mountain in HK during the Autumn and Winter seasons.

Tai Tong Sweet Gum Woods At Tai Lam Country Park

Tai Lam is Hong Kong's second-largest country park. There are many attractions that you can find in this country park, such as, the scenic placid lakes and slopes going to Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, and the Ho Poi Reservoir. The country park also houses different kinds of trees and provides habitats for different animals.

But the most visited attraction of this country park is the magical and breathtaking Sweet Gum Woods every Autumn and Winter. Sounds like in a fairy tale right? The red leaves trees that can only be seen in Korean and Japanese movies were finally captured and touched in real life.

It is where you can have a magical experience of Autumn colors in HK. The leaves during Autumn transitioned from green to shades of orange, yellow, and red, and the contrast of colors is truly a spectacular sight to behold.

The sweetgum leaves change their colors from November to January, but the best time to witness the bold red color of the leaves is in mid to end December. We visited the place last January 2018 and the leaves were already turning brown and falling, so only a few trees were left and the view wasn't really the same as what you can see from the photos on the internet.

The view is supposed to be like this if you will visit in mid to end of December.

And last winter, I wasn't able to visit this place since my friends were always on duty during my holidays 😥. Better luck next time, maybe in the future. I actually kept one leaf from the sweetgum tree and placed it on a notebook but I don't know where I put it 😅. The remembrance was lost, lol.

Aside from Tai Tong Sweet Gum Woods, you can also find red leaves in other places in HK, like in Tsing Yi Park.

Tsing Yi Park

It can be found in an urban park in HK and you don't need to hike a mountain just to see red leaves trees. But it was also January 2018 when we went there, so the leaves weren't that vibrant and reddish anymore. Some leaves were already falling and turning brown.

Victoria Peak

It was December 2017 when went there, the mountain was too foggy as you can on the photo. Victoria Peak is also known as Mount Austin and is most commonly called "The Peak." This is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island that is 1,811 ft high. This was I guess my first hike in HK, the next was the Dragon's Back mountain.

But we were not able to reach the summit as we do not know how to get there, and we were almost lost in the forest, lol. Some say that we need to ride a tramto reach the peak. And on top of the mountain, you can see Central HK, Victoria Harbour, and Lamma Island.

For those who don't want to hike the mountain, there is a tower called Peak Tower where you can see the HK city and the waterfront and is considered as the major tourist attraction of HK. It has an entrance fee though that costs HK$50 and you are free to use the coin-operated telescope and witness the scenic cityscape. Inside the tower are 3D displays as well where visitors are free to take photos.

Yau Ma Tei Hill

This is not a high mountain but just a not-so-high hill in Yau Ma Tei HK. It was January 1, 2020, when I hiked there as my pre-birthday gala. On the top, you will see the whole city of Yau Ma Tei as well as other neighboring cities. It's a perfect place to capture the city at night if you want to stay until dawn there.

There's also a platform on top of the hill where old visitors can relax on the benches and kids can play around. It's also easy to climb the hill since the pathway has handrails and concrete stairs.

Among all the mountains I hiked here in HK, my most favorite one is also on Cheung Chau Island.

North Look Out Pavilion at Cheung Chau Mountain

Aside from beautiful beaches, seafood, boats, bicycles, love lock house, and old boutiques, the major attraction of Cheung Chau Island is the mountain and the North Look Out Pavilion.

On top of the mountain is the North Look Out Pavilion and from there you can see the Cheung Chau beaches and a fascinating view of the island and its shoreline.

There were two stairs from the Peninsula going down to two different beaches located at the bottom of the mountain. My favorite one is the right stairs going down to Tung Wan Tsai beach. From this area, you can also see the main beach of the island and the market, even the Lamma Island HK.

You can read my whole journey on this island in the article below.

Related Article: Into The Mountain I Go, To Lose My Mind And Find My Soul

From countrysides, to temples, then mountains, what do you think is the next?

Stay tuned 🙂