Hike to Kowloon Peak

A view of Kowloon and Hong Kong island in the distance

Today my walking buddy and I went up Kowloon Peak or fei ngo shan (飛鵝山) which is above Ma On Shan. We took the MTR to Shatin City One and began walking up a path of stairs. It was a good day to go, around 9-12 degrees Celsius and relatively clear.

Along the way we passed a group of young people, the girls already saying they had regrets when they were only at the beginning of the hike! 

Past the Gilwell campsite and the hills ahead

We soldiered onwards and finally got onto a path that was covered with rocks and tree roots so I constantly had my head down making sure I wouldn't trip. Many of the paths were quite narrow too, another reason to watch where we were going.

A few times we had to consult our map or ask a few people how to get there as there were some "intersections" along the way. While the paths weren't packed, it was good to see many like-minded people getting some fresh air. 

Finally we made it to a clearing and the views were outstanding -- on one side was Sai Kung, and on the other Kowloon below us, such as Kai Tak and beyond to Hong Kong island, with the convention centre and IFC in the distance. 

We kept going, and had to go up one hill and then the other (Elephant Hill) to get to a weather station and helicopter pad. The first hill was such a trek that we had to practically climb up the steep hill, grabbing onto large rocks for balance. 

Below is Sai Kung

Meanwhile others were coming down the same path, and that was even scarier -- one young woman slid down right beside me and landed on her bottom. Yikes. 

Some parts were relatively flat but meant passing low bamboo bushes. At each point the view below was more amazing and eventually we finally made it to the weather station and helicopter pad. One man was playing with his drone, while the rest of us took lots of pictures having succeeded at reaching this point! Phew!

Now how to get down? Off another part of the mountain was a path marked with wooden steps and we made our way which seemed relatively easy at first, but it seemed to never end. By this point it was 5pm and we saw people, including young families making their way up. I encouraged a young girl to keep going though she was breathing rather heavily, while two women were walking up, the second one carrying two heavy bags!

I asked why so many bags and the first one admitted she couldn't carry it anymore and was exhausted. I told them another 10 minutes or so they would make it to the top, but why were they carrying so much stuff? They wanted to go up in time for the sunset, but the hazy air didn't seem like a dramatic sunset would happen. Nevertheless I told them the view was definitely worth it and they carried on.

The weather station and helicopter pad!

Finally we saw large Chinese graves and then an actual road! Civilization! It was Fei Ngo Road, with lots of fancy homes on both sides. Who lives up here? Towards the bottom we caught a taxi down to Diamond Hill MTR and made our way back from there. 

What a trek! My legs feel like jelly, but the views were worth it. I probably won't go up there again anytime soon. We recorded a 12km trek, but it definitely felt much longer!