After a months-long hiatus (I really can’t remember the last time I hit the trails), I finally made it back yesterday for the Monday off. Of course, I chose one of the easier looking itineraries to warm myself up for the full-blown hiking season: High Junk Peak Country Trail.

Difficulty: Medium (2/4)

Distance: 6.4 km

Duration: 2.5-3 Hour(s) — you could definitely do less if you’re in a hurry, but we stopped to picnic on a rock and at some point sat on a viewpoint to watch the whizzing remote control airplanes. On the other side of the hill were actual birds of prey; I can never recognise what type they are but Hong Kong has its fair share of hawks, kites and eagles

As you can already tell from the photos, it was a beautiful hike. We got to the trailhead itself at around 2.50pm which left us ample time to get through the whole thing while avoiding the hottest part of the day.

Get there

Starting Point: Ng Fai Tin (Clearwater Bay Road)

Finishing Point: Tai Miu Au (Near Clearwater Bay’s Beaches)

You could also do this trail from south to north and maybe avoid the public transport chaos in the Clearwater Bay beach area. It took us forever to get out; the public holiday probably had something to do with the massive crowds, but I feel a sunny beach weekend would also present challenges in terms of getting seats on any bus / minibus / taxi.

You can get to Ng Fai Tin through several ways; I used Google Maps to find my way from Sai Ying Pun. We took the train to the MTR Tseung Kwan O Station and then switched to minibus 103M  which took us to the start of the trail.

See a nearby easier/shorter hike: Lung Ha Wan Country Trail (Clearwater Bay)

On the trail

Even on a public holiday, the trail wasn’t very crowded. We passed several groups, but most of the time we were hacking it alone. Which was nice.

The first part of the trail intersects several times with a mountain bike path, but we didn’t see any offroad bikers that day – just concrete riders. Keep following the signs that say ‘Country Trail’. And remember where you’re going: Tai Miu.

As the trail is quite near to the coast, you’ll get a lot of sea views. Towards the end we even saw ICC and the head of IFC on the horizon. I also saw Lion’s Rock from the distance jutting out, and Ma On Shan’s massif.

It was a little bit muddy especially in the beginning since it had rained the previous day. But nothing too mucky. There is no concrete path on any part of High Junk Peak Country Trail, which makes for a more natural feel. We were walking on soil/dirt, rocks, and leaves the whole time.

Getting out

There are a few options to get out. The quicker way is to just walk left from the end ’till you hit the intersection (5 min, max). There you can catch a minibus (16) to Po Lam (there’s an MTR there).

Unfortunately for us the minibuses were all full because there was a snake-like queue from Po Toi O Chuen in the end. The latter is a small fishing village at the Clear Water Bay Peninsula famous for its affordable, fresh and delicious seafood.

We ended up walking to the Clearwater Bay Beach bus terminal where we had more options for transportation (buses, minibuses, taxis). Unfortunately we had to wait a lonnggg time because there were maybe hundreds of people trying to get out at the same time. At least there was a vending machine where we got lime and apple flavoured drinks as we had run out of water a while back…

If you’re looking for other warm-weather friendly hikes, you can also check out the following:

• Po Toi Island: Hong Kong’s version of the Adriatic Coast
• Beautiful Coastal Walk with Secret Beaches: Lantau Trail Section 7, Tai O
• Easy Coastal Hike: South Lantau Country Trail
• Summer Hike: Pat Sin Leng to Bride’s Pool Waterfall
• Medium and super convenient Beach Hike: Mui Wo to Pui O (Lantau Stage 12)

I loved yesterday so much I really can’t wait till the next one. Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram because I’m actually thinking of organizing open group hikes in maybe a couple of months. It would be great if you’d let me know if you’re interested in doing these small adventures with me!

xoxo