Hiking in Hong Kong

There are many different variations of this hike, but our particular Sharp Peak route comes in at around 15km with roughly 750m of elevation gain. Many hikers start from Sai Wan Pavilion, following a paved path that’s fairly lively with foot traffic. Once we reached the first beach, things started to quiet down, as many tourists turned around here. A small stargazing structure sits along the way - perfect for a quick rest stop - before the trail continued toward the next stretch of beach.

The proper hiking part starts after the second beach on a slightly hidden trail. At one point, a snake darted across the path so fast, it took us a few seconds to realize what we had seen. From there, the ascent steadies itself all the way to the top. Up on the peak, the wind moves wildly, and you get a mix of mountain layers, long beaches, and even a distant hint of city skyline.

For the way down, we took a different route and ended the hike at Pak Tam Au, caught a bus to Sai Kung for dinner, then hopped on bus and MTR back to Central - with tired legs, but happy about a great day out.