Hansen's Hikes
| Lantau Island 大 嶼 山 |
| Hansen's Hikes 38 D, Tower 2, Sham Wan Towers 3, Ap Lei Chau Drive Ap Lei Chau Hong Kong Tel: (+852) 9552 0987 E-mail : info@hansens-hikes.com |
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Lantau is Hong Kong's biggest (142 km2) and, arguably, most magnificent island. Situated in the mouth of the Pearl River estuary, it is home to
Hong Kong's second and third tallest mountain peaks - Lantau Peak (934m) and Sunset Peak (869m).
Though it has a long and interesting history, and was once the last refuge of a fleeing emperor, Lantau had nothing but scattered, small villages in
the 1950s, when the South Lantau Road and Shek Pik Reservoir were built. The next wave of development came in the late 1970s with the
construction of Discovery Bay, an isolated residential community accessible by ferry only. In the 1990s, the island was connected to the mainland
with the Tsing-Ma Bridge, the new airport was built at Chek Lap Kok, Discovery Bay was connected to the road network, and almost the entire north
shore of Lantau was opened up to development, including two new towns of several hundred thousand people each.
Most of Lantau is protected by the North and South Lantau Country Parks and as Lantau is one of the largest relatively undeveloped areas of Hong
Kong, it is an important ecological, recreational, historic, and scenic resource. Some important areas are:
- The two richest streams in Hong Kong, the Tai Ho Stream and the Tung Chung Stream. These yielded 47 and 23 fish species, respectively, with a
combined total of 57, or half of Hong Kong's freshwater fish species.
- Several wetlands with rich diversity of bird and amphibian life. Mui Wo, Tai O, Pui O, and Shui Hau wetlands are all abandoned agricultural land,
but being flat and accessible they are under threat of development.
- Large and mature forests home to a rich diversity of species, including rare orchids, snakes, bats, and dragonflies.
- A marine park north of Lantau designated to protect the Chinese White Dolphin.
- Many hiking trails crisscross Lantau, including the challenging 70 km Lantau Trail. Lantau scenery is varied and trails include mountain ridge
walks coastal and forest walks.
- Beaches including Hong Kong’s longest the Cheung Sha Upper Beach. It is consistently rated good water quality, accessible by road, and rarely
crowded. There are many other fine beaches, not all of them gazetted, along Lantau's southern shore.
- The village of Tai O. Once a major centre of salt production, fishing, and trade, it still retains traces of its long history, from salt pans to stilted
houses.
Hong Kong's second and third tallest mountain peaks - Lantau Peak (934m) and Sunset Peak (869m).
Though it has a long and interesting history, and was once the last refuge of a fleeing emperor, Lantau had nothing but scattered, small villages in
the 1950s, when the South Lantau Road and Shek Pik Reservoir were built. The next wave of development came in the late 1970s with the
construction of Discovery Bay, an isolated residential community accessible by ferry only. In the 1990s, the island was connected to the mainland
with the Tsing-Ma Bridge, the new airport was built at Chek Lap Kok, Discovery Bay was connected to the road network, and almost the entire north
shore of Lantau was opened up to development, including two new towns of several hundred thousand people each.
Most of Lantau is protected by the North and South Lantau Country Parks and as Lantau is one of the largest relatively undeveloped areas of Hong
Kong, it is an important ecological, recreational, historic, and scenic resource. Some important areas are:
- The two richest streams in Hong Kong, the Tai Ho Stream and the Tung Chung Stream. These yielded 47 and 23 fish species, respectively, with a
combined total of 57, or half of Hong Kong's freshwater fish species.
- Several wetlands with rich diversity of bird and amphibian life. Mui Wo, Tai O, Pui O, and Shui Hau wetlands are all abandoned agricultural land,
but being flat and accessible they are under threat of development.
- Large and mature forests home to a rich diversity of species, including rare orchids, snakes, bats, and dragonflies.
- A marine park north of Lantau designated to protect the Chinese White Dolphin.
- Many hiking trails crisscross Lantau, including the challenging 70 km Lantau Trail. Lantau scenery is varied and trails include mountain ridge
walks coastal and forest walks.
- Beaches including Hong Kong’s longest the Cheung Sha Upper Beach. It is consistently rated good water quality, accessible by road, and rarely
crowded. There are many other fine beaches, not all of them gazetted, along Lantau's southern shore.
- The village of Tai O. Once a major centre of salt production, fishing, and trade, it still retains traces of its long history, from salt pans to stilted
houses.
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| Hansen's Hikes visit Lantau Island on these tours |
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