I had thought I’ve done all the hikes up, down and around the Peak – but clearly I was wrong.
Last Sunday I had signed up for another MeetUp hike to the peak and I was intrigued, it promised to visit the High West Mountain behind the Peak. I had no idea this mountain existed… so I signed up for the hike.
It started the usual way, up the steep slopes from Central to the Old Peak Road (this time we walked along LKF, past the Zoological and Botanical Gardens until we hit the Old Peak Road, which we just followed).
As soon as we reached the Peak, we walked along the flat morning trail, which is 4km long. We walked the anti-clockwise direction, which meant that we first reached all the great sightseeing spots, from which to overlook the harbour and the islands.
I’m always fascinated by all the boats and ships in the harbour – regardless which day it is (and it was a Sunday when I was up on the Peak) there is always a lot of traffic, with leisure boats, ferries, cruise ships, container ships and cranes. It’s fun to watch from a distance, but I clearly don’t want to be in control of the harbour traffic. It looks like a nightmare job, it clearly must be stressful.
After standing there for a few minutes and taking pictures in every direction, we continued walking counter-clockwise until we reached the pavilion and exercise area (that’s about 2,5km along the path). At this point we left the paved path and followed the footpath that lead us into the shrubs.
I had never known that this path existed – and I would not have found it on my own. It is a little tucked away, but actually quite popular with Sunday hikers. We saw quite a few that came down this path, which is actually just steps climb.
For 10 minutes it just goes steep uphill – and after that incline you reach the top of High West, which is 494m high. From there you are rewarded with a 360 degree view around Hong Kong. The only problem is that this spot is quite exposed, so actually we got caught up in some fog and haze.
Every few minutes the whole peak was covered in clouds and we could only see a few metres. Then the fog cleared up again and we could see Cyberport and Lamma Island in the South, Cheung Chau in the West, Hong Kong Island and Kowloon in the North and some shrubs and trees in the East.
After a short break on High West, we climbed the steps back down and continued our hike along the Morning Trail loop on the Peak, before following the Old Peak Road back down to Central.
The whole hike is about 11km long and (with a few stops) took us 3 hours – a nice exercise for a Sunday afternoon, which was rewarded with some Pizza at Pepperonis Pizza on Wyndham Street.
bluebalu 
This is so beautiful! We’re going to be visiting Hong Kong for the first time in August. We’re so excited about it ~ it looks like an amazing place!
You’re going to have a fantastic time, HK is an amazing place. Hopefully by then the weather will be a little more predictable, right now it’s a mix of rain one day and sun the other! Safe travels Andrea!
Sounds like an amazing hike. When we were in Hong Kong over the holidays we just took a cab to the top since the line for the tram was way too long….and then we walked down. In a clear day, some of the best views in the world if you ask me. Thanks for sharing….next time I’m back I’ll try working off some of my Dim Sum calories and hike from the bottom!
Good idea – although you’re going to be very sweaty by the time you reach the top. It’s quite a tiring climb and I often underestimate how long the path is!
Looking for a hike for this weekend. 11km is a bit too far but this was a nice read. Thanks!
You could skip the walk around the Peak – just go up High West. But of course, it depends on the weather – there is not any view right now, so wait till it clears up before you go on this hike. Otherwise you’ll just be stuck in the mist!