Hansen's Hikes
| ... exploring Hong Kong's other side... |
Tai Mo Shan
(The Full Monty)
At 958 metres Tai Mo Shan might be the highest mountain in Hong Kong, but conquering it is, thankfully, not too hard. We
start our walk at the pretty Shing Mun reservoir by following the gently climbing old Tsuen Wan – Tai Po Road (now closed)
to Lead Mine Pass probably spotting a few monkeys along the way.
After a brief break at the pass, the assault on Tai Mo Shan starts in earnest. A long flight of steps partly in the shade help us
gain altitude. This is then followed by a relatively flat high plateau. At first we look down towards Tai Po, Tolo Harbour, and
the Pat Sin Leng range. Later Lion Rock and, if the weather is clear, Hong Kong island come into view.
At the end of the plateau, the path drops a little, before steeply – but “steplessly” winding its way up to the summit of Tai Mo
Shan, while offering views over the Shek Kung Valley and the Lam Tsuen Country Park. The actual peak itself is covered by
a radio transmitting station, but you can’t legally get any higher than this in Hong Kong. With nothing blocking our view of
virtually all of Hong Kong, we will take a well-deserved lunch break here to soak it all up.
The descent from Tai Mo Shan follows a little used road allowing us to enjoy the views over Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and the
Yuen Long plain without having to pay too much attention to where we place our feet.
The refreshment kiosk at the Route Twisk BBQ site not only permits us to replenish our water supply, it will also offers a
place to briefly rest our legs before we continue along the gently sloping acacia-tree shaded forest track up Lin Fa Shan.
We check out the abandoned village school before reaching a look-out point, where we enjoy stunning views over the
impressive Tsing Ma and Ting Kau Bridges.
Once we have taken in the panorama, we turn our back on the big city below and descend into the woodlands of the Tai
Lam Country Park. Soon, the sounds of jackhammers, fire trucks and bus brakes are replaced by silence and bird song.
Adding to the pleasure is the fact that most of the walk from now on is down hill – and the potential of a few wildlife
encounters.
At first we follow a slightly rough trail through the woods, but soon we find ourselves back on a forest track. We stick to
this track until we reach the turn-off for a small hidden valley, home to a gem of a watering hole. Though it is the kind of
place that you would prefer to keep to yourself, it does need to be shared…
After an apéritif or two, we will then follow the contours of a couple of spectacular gorges on our way down to Sham Tseng,
where tables have been reserved at one of the famous “roasted goose” restaurants.
(The Full Monty)
At 958 metres Tai Mo Shan might be the highest mountain in Hong Kong, but conquering it is, thankfully, not too hard. We
start our walk at the pretty Shing Mun reservoir by following the gently climbing old Tsuen Wan – Tai Po Road (now closed)
to Lead Mine Pass probably spotting a few monkeys along the way.
After a brief break at the pass, the assault on Tai Mo Shan starts in earnest. A long flight of steps partly in the shade help us
gain altitude. This is then followed by a relatively flat high plateau. At first we look down towards Tai Po, Tolo Harbour, and
the Pat Sin Leng range. Later Lion Rock and, if the weather is clear, Hong Kong island come into view.
At the end of the plateau, the path drops a little, before steeply – but “steplessly” winding its way up to the summit of Tai Mo
Shan, while offering views over the Shek Kung Valley and the Lam Tsuen Country Park. The actual peak itself is covered by
a radio transmitting station, but you can’t legally get any higher than this in Hong Kong. With nothing blocking our view of
virtually all of Hong Kong, we will take a well-deserved lunch break here to soak it all up.
The descent from Tai Mo Shan follows a little used road allowing us to enjoy the views over Tsuen Wan, Tsing Yi and the
Yuen Long plain without having to pay too much attention to where we place our feet.
The refreshment kiosk at the Route Twisk BBQ site not only permits us to replenish our water supply, it will also offers a
place to briefly rest our legs before we continue along the gently sloping acacia-tree shaded forest track up Lin Fa Shan.
We check out the abandoned village school before reaching a look-out point, where we enjoy stunning views over the
impressive Tsing Ma and Ting Kau Bridges.
Once we have taken in the panorama, we turn our back on the big city below and descend into the woodlands of the Tai
Lam Country Park. Soon, the sounds of jackhammers, fire trucks and bus brakes are replaced by silence and bird song.
Adding to the pleasure is the fact that most of the walk from now on is down hill – and the potential of a few wildlife
encounters.
At first we follow a slightly rough trail through the woods, but soon we find ourselves back on a forest track. We stick to
this track until we reach the turn-off for a small hidden valley, home to a gem of a watering hole. Though it is the kind of
place that you would prefer to keep to yourself, it does need to be shared…
After an apéritif or two, we will then follow the contours of a couple of spectacular gorges on our way down to Sham Tseng,
where tables have been reserved at one of the famous “roasted goose” restaurants.
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