Sightseeing in Hong Kong: The Dragon Back Hiking Trail

Although Hong Kong is more renowned for its many shopping opportunities and delicious food than for its natural surroundings the city is actually situated close to beautiful mountains providing great hiking opportunities for those who long to get away from the bustling city life. 
For Yuma and me this hike was in fact the first thing we chose to do for our stay in Hong Kong. Neither of us are particularly found of shopping, and as the first day of our vacation fully at our disposal we decided to charge our batteries.

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The bus terminal at Shau Kei Wan

Finding the way to the hiking trail was relatively easy. First we took the metro to Shau Kei Wan Station where the bus terminal was located by exit 3, and from there we got on bus number 9. The bus took us up the mountains and into the wilderness, and we almost didn't notice it when the buss passed by Tei Wan, where we were supposed to get off. 

A sign showing the way to the Dragon's Back

On the side of the road there was a small sign with the dragon symbolising the trail we were taking; the Dragon's Back. Apparently this track is very well considered among travellers, and in 2004 it was even selected by TIME Asia as the best urban hiking trail. Although the trail was situated in the middle of nowhere they still had done a good job with ensuring that visitors had access to toilets and even a box with a button one could press in case of emergency.

Prepared for all sorts of emergencies

From the main road we went straight into the bushes and the wilderness and soon we found ourselves in the middle of a small bamboo forest.

The beginning of the trail

It didn't take long though until the vegetation grew thinner and shorter, and soon we reached an area where we had a good view at the nearby peninsula on the other side of the bay.

Along the trail we could see the beaches stretching out far below us, and we could also glimpse some islands far out at sea.

As we got closer to the top it got pretty hot, not that much because of the physical effort of following the trail but rather because of the lack of vegetation. The sun was burning hot!

All along the way we had beautiful view though. It was fantastic to get out of the city and get to relax in the nature.

The Dragon's Back

At the latter half of the hike we got to the area which gave the Dragon's Back its name.

We reached the top of the Shek o Peak at 284 meters, and rested at one of the benches there before starting the descending.

Apparently the hike takes about 1-2 hours to complete. In our case we weren't really in a rush, so we went quite slowly and probably spent a little bit more than two hours on the hike.

After a couple of relaxing hours with long breaks on the way we reached the end of the trail. This place was situated right by a beach known as the Big Wave Bay Beach, and it seemed that a number of other foreigners also had discovered this hidden gem already.

Some cute houses at the end of the trail

Some local stores selling all you might need for a trip to the beach

The Big Wave Bay Beach

After a lunch at a local restaurant we went down to the beach too. We spent some time strolling on the sand dunes before heading back to Hong Kong.

Right by the beach there was a bus stop where the same bus we used to get to the trail also stopped at. It was easy to get back to the city, and after having returned to Shau Kei Wan we enjoyed one of Hong Kong's specialities, the egg tarts at a bakery in the nearby food market.

One of Hong Kong's many specialities; the egg tart. Delicious!

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
Anette

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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.