Distance: 6.6km in total to and from the MTR station – but the actual trail is only 3.6km
Duration: 2 hours give or take. The 3.6km part can be done in 1-1.5 hours if you don’t stop.
Difficulty: Easy. The description says ‘flat walk’ but I would say maybe 40% of the hike was a gentle to moderate incline.
that’s the top of ICC on West Kowloon peeking through the hills
Darkness: Bring a torch! We used our cellphone flashlight, which was okay.
Start: Tai Koo MTR Station
End: Quarry Bay MTR Station
Convenient, eh?
The weather is so nice and since I suspended my yoga membership for 2 months I haven’t done any proper exercise in 2-3 weeks. Which makes me feel gross and sluggish. So I decided to do a night hike last night with JPJR.
step by step guide below
Honestly this hike would probably best done in the day time because the view was mostly of mountains and trees. None of which we really saw because… it was dark. What I mean is there are some night hikes where you always have a good view of the city (Jardine’s Lookout for example, but that one’s really steep) so it’s always glittery and sparkly. But if you want to escape the city and be fully immersed in nature, which we kind of did, then by all means, this is a very convenient and good night hike.
Step by Step:
1. Tai Koo MTR Station, Exit B. Turn left, and walk until Greig Road.
2. Turn left on Greig Road. Keep walking uphill until you see the Quarry Bay Tree Walk. Get on it. DO NOT turn right on Hong Pak Path.
you will see these signs. You can follow Wilson Trail (Stage 2)
3. Keep on Quarry Bay Tree Walk until you reach the intersection. Turn left on Hong Pak Country Trail.
4. Keep following the signs to Mount Parker Road.
lower altitude parts of the hike
5. Actually that’s it. We encountered only 3 funny British people on the hike with headlights on. 2 guys and 1 girl trying to climb the mountain. “Are you running the ISL374”? They asked us. They looked like serious athletes. We shook our heads.
At the start, we saw a man walking down with a penlight. In the pitch black darkness, on the road off the trail. I thought it was weird. But what James said was even weirder: he had a little girl along with him. Which I didn’t see…
View of Island East (SWIRE). Was everyone still working at 9pm?!
6. At the end of the hike, go down Mt Parker Road towards the Quarry Bay MTR Station. We made a mistake and followed this road with a gate/dead end. Instead of turning back to Mt Parker Road we saw a sign on the right side which we thought was the right way. So we followed this path and got back on the Quarry Bay Tree Walk… which was still alright. It was just another detour to Mt Parker Road.
on that detour we encountered some abandoned War relics like these wartime stoves, food storage sheds, and caves. Which creeped me out I didn’t even dare flash my light into them… >_<
7. And voila! You’re done! Congratulations. That was fun wasn’t it?
lots of big interesting stones along the way. Yes that’s what happens when you’re away from civilisation.
Have a good weekend folks!
xx
I’ve never done a night hike in HK but looks like fun and something to try soon!
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If you like night hikes, there’s one or two each week at http://www.meetup.com/hongkonghikingmeetup/
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Thanks! Joined the meetup group but I feel a bit scared to hike with people I don’t know >_<
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