In Search Of The Lion

Hong Kong is full of hills, low and short enough to be summited in half a day. Lion Rock is one of them, a very walkable hill about 495m high, rated as number 52 highest out of 131 hills in HK (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mountains,_peaks_and_hills_in_Hong_Kong).

This post is not about directions on how to get to the peak. There are already a number of blog posts on directions, one of the better ones (which I referred to) is this post by Jean-Christophe Clement: http://hikehongkong.blogspot.hk/2011/11/lion-rock.htm. It gives you a very easy to follow step-by-step guide on how to get there and back. I'll instead take you through the experiences and sights of my 4-hr trek, from Wong Tai Sin MTR Station to the peak and back.

Following the directions out of Wong Tai Sin MTR Station, we started our 1hr hike to the trail entrance. What the blog doesn't say is the hike to the trail entrance is mostly upslope. Although it was a paved road, the very warm day which we chose to hike in made it more tiring than it should be. 

Sunny day for a hike

Best day for hanging clothes out to dry

A couple of animals greeted us as we started the incline up to the trailhead. First was this big brown dog that lay sleepily at the top of a flight of stairs, watching silently as humans walk by, like an old man watching foreigners from afar visit his hometown. 

First to greet us on the way up was this big brown dog, who looked like the Guardian of the Stairs

Another was a family of monkeys, or was it a few families? They looked harmless enough, not likely to jump onto you and snatch your food. As we walked past, the leader of the monkeys started making his way further down the road. The rest of the monkeys followed, with the mothers carrying their young on their backs. The monkeys got the message: These humans aren’t giving us any food, let’s go elsewhere!”

After an hour we finally reached the trail entrance. There was a public toilet just 20m further down the road for your last minute call of nature before hitting the trail. There’s a shop for your last minute supplies but it was closed. Lesson: Do not rely on last minute preparation. Good thing we already had our food and water with us.

The start of the trail was as familiar as any HK trail I’ve come across: soiled tracks with large rocky stairs. The weather was especially sunny and warm. However it doesn’t take long before your hard work is rewarded with breath-taking views of the city below.

Those familiar HK stairs

So hot!!

Along the way, we encountered a little piece of history; the remains of a WWII machine-gun pill box used by the British to defend HK against the invading Japanese. Not sure if it was ever used though. Other encounters: a brown preying mantis that blended perfectly with the ground. That may not be a great tactic because hikers might just step on it without noticing. Oh there was also a Bulbasaur and a few other Pokemons.

Remnants of a WWII pill 

The path to Lion Rock peak branches off to the left; there’s a signboard that points to the trail, it’s hard to miss. Going up the peak means more stairs, obviously. Nothing compared to Lantau or Sunset Peak, after all this peak is only less than 500m high; but the view at the top is just as awesome! You can see the whole of Kowloon, probably can see HK Island as well if not for the cloudy sky. There are foreigners and locals, trail runners that flew by, and 2 locals taking photos of themselves and their flags. The flags had these words printed, “Hong Kong is not China”.

At the foot of Lion Rock

Trees forming an archway along the path

Breathtaking view of Kowloon

Demonstrators making a statement at the peak

Thanks to them for taking this photo for us

Wow!

There are a few spots that seemed like peaks and the view from all of them are great. However the real peak is on top of the Lion Rock itself, it requires some rock climbing to get there. The view from the peak is not particularly more splendid than the other vantage points, but it gives you the bragging rights to say, “I’ve been to the peak of Lion Rock!”

On the peak of Lion Rock

Little Butterfree made its way up to the peak

Coming down is fairly easy; just continue the trail, no need to backtrack. The highlight of the downhill section has to be the 2 husky-shiba inu-looking dogs we encountered! Makes us dream of having our own dogs and taking them on such hikes. Not manicured parks but off-road hilly trails.

It takes about 1hr from the peak to the bottom of the hill. You know you have reached the bottom when you pass by Lion Rock Park on your right. There are public toilets and water fountain for drinking. Continue the directions to Wong Tai Sin MTR, but use Google map to guide you as some of the roads indicated have been blocked off for construction. We stopped by Wong Tai Sin Mall for some food before making our way back to the hotel.

Total time: 4hrs 13mins

Total distance: 7.18km

Average speed: 1.7km/hr