This is a very easy hike – a good stroll if it it’s too hot or you just don’t feel like climbing up all the steps to Mount Parker or Mount Butler.
The hike starts at Quarry Bay MTR station. Take exit A, turn right, and you will find yourself walking along the King’s Road towards the direction of Tai Koo Shing, passing the Tong Chong Street and Pan Hoi Street. After about 5 minute’s walk, you will see a flyover, under which there is a road called Mount Parker Road, leading uphill.
For the shorter version, which I took, you need to walk until you see the first or the second set of steps to the right (it doesn’t matter which one you take, they lead to the same section). The only thing you will need to check is that you passed the first toilet house and the sign with the map to all the BBQ pits in the area. Once you’ve done this, it doesn’t matter which set of steps you take.
Follow the steps until you reach this place – a small shrine with lots of statues. Often candles or incense sticks are burning in front of them, sometimes you can even hear music from a small radio playing. I don’t know who comes here, I don’t know who looks after it and what it is for – but it is a beautiful small little area in the forest.
From there, just continue uphill until the end of the steps (that’s the hardest part of the whole hike). Once at the top, walk right.
Then keep on the path, and always turn left at every junction. There are several ones on the way, and there is one, that if you turn right you can climb Braemar Hill, but we didn’t do this as it was a rainy Sunday and we wanted to get quickly to a shelter point.
After 4km total hike (from the MTR station) we reached a waterfall and a pavilion – where we stayed and waited for the thunderstorm to pass. It took us 20 minutes, after that the air was fresh and clear – and the views were beautiful!
Continue on the hike, until you reach the paved road. That’s Mount Butler Road that goes along the Quarry. You need to turn right and follow the road downhill, through the urban jungle of Tai Hang – until we reached a lunch spot in Tin Hau to eat a soup and take a rest! The overall 9km took us 2.5 hours with breaks, so it was a leisurely stroll!
bluebalu 