Lion Rock Peak (Hong Kong)

Much like my previous post on how to get to Victoria Peak by night, getting to Lion Rock Peak can also be somewhat of struggle if you're not entirely sure where you want to go. Again, you can't assume that you can just jump in a cab and tell the driver to take you to Lion Rock, because there's several different trail entrance points and you never really know where that particular cab driver will think you should start.

From Mong Kok, we got on the MTR and took the green line to Wong Tai Sin Station. I know you can also get to the trail head by getting off at Diamond Hill Station, but since Wong Tai Sin was a shorter route we opted for that. From Wong Tai Sin, exit the station at B3 and go right under the overpass and past the temple.

From here you have two options. You can make the 1.6 mile walk to the start of the trail head (approximately an hour walk before even starting your hike), or you can hail a cab for approximately $25-30 HK. Since we had a lot on the agenda for the day, we opted to get a taxi. Again, we went wrong with the whole taxi thing and simply told them Lion Rock Peak, and he ended up taking us to a different trail head which was not the route we wanted to start. So we ended up walking about 40 minutes anways from where the taxi dropped us off to where we actually wanted to start the hike *facepalm*. If you opt for a taxi, be sure to tell them Sha Tin Pass, as this will take you to the top of the Sha Tin Pass Road (which is a steadyyyy incline if you end up hiking it, which sort of made us exhausted before we even started the hike). The Taxi driver will be able to drop you off right at the end of the road and right at the start of the paved path up.

From this point on, expect to see monkeys. And LOTS of them. We saw easily 50+ monkeys on our hike and it was AWESOME. They are roaming freely everywhere, and they are used to seeing hikers every day so they do not scare away from your presence. Even though they look super cute and welcoming, be sure NOT to feed them. There are signs that tell you at the beginning of the Lion Rock hike to avoid feeding the monkeys because it has lead them to get used to being fed by humans, therefore, a little aggressive at times if they do not get fed. In my opinion, these signs are a little contradicting. "Don't feed the monkeys. Because not feeding them has lead for them to attack you!" Like um... if a monkey starts to attack me over the bananas and nutella sticks we brought on our hike, I'm going to let the monkey have my snacks bro.

Anyway, you'll continue up the paved path for about 15-20 minutes until you come to a red overpass. This is NOT the way you want to take up to get to Lion Rock Peak. Instead, continue left until you reach a set of stairs with a sign that says "Lion Rock County Park." This is technically the beginning of your Lion Rock Hike (I know, after all you've already endured). If you need to go to the bathroom, there is a public restroom in this area that you can and should use now, as you may be hiking for awhile.

The hike up the path from here on out is pretty self explanatory, just stay on the easily identifiable path and you won't get lost.

The hike from this point to the very top isn't nearly as long as I anticipated, but you can probably plan for about another 40 minutes of hiking depending on your pace. The views from up top are incredible, and for that reason alone I would definitely recommend this hike during your time in Hong Kong if you can swing it. It offers views that differ from the traditional views you'll find atop Victoria's Peak, plus they are a little more rewarding because you actually have to work for them.

I advise you to try and pick a day with good visibility to do the hike otherwise you'll get all the way to the top and miss the chance to really see anything. We had actually originally planned this hike on our first day, but the weather was hazy and the visibility was rather poor, so we knew it wouldn't be worth it. We waited on it a few days and I'm so glad we did! The visibility still wasn't the best, but it was clear enough for us to really see the city. This hike was totally worth it and if you are athletic/adventurous, put it to the top of your list!