so after living in Hong Kong for close to three months during the entire fall, I found my new love: hiking.

I realized that the Hong Kongers really enjoy hiking only after this trip. hiking wouldn’t have even had crossed my mind as a(n Asian) tourist. the past 4 times I’ve been in HK, I cannot think of anything else other than shopping, eating and the occasional drinking/clubbing. this time, to get me healthy, my boyfriend suggested we hike. and my oh my, I thought HK is a concrete jungle; but it is only partly true. little did I know, it has its nature well preserved too!

while there are a whole lot of trails, I would like to list 5 of the hikes I think has the best views in HK!

Lugard Road, HK.

#1 The Morning Trail
difficulty: 1/10
first up, we have the trail over-looking the iconic HK skyline: the morning trail, near the Victoria Peak. it is a comfortable 3.2km walk and it is wheelchair friendly too! no steps and completely comfortable.

#2 Lugard Road
difficulty: 1/10
for a similar comfortable trail (that’s fairly long as well) on higher grounds, you may also try to walk along Lugard Road, where photographers frequent. but please note that the photogenic spot gets really crowded and especially in the evening, you may not get a spot to stand.

#3 Beacon Hill
difficulty: 3/10
a non-stop uphill path; this place is oddly located at a radioactive location that was an airport tower once. along your hike you may find an army of monkeys, outdoor aquariums (you heard me right, not pond. but aquariums) and a few (caged) dogs. but it has a breath-taking view. although not noticeable on the picture above, if you hike on a clear day, I assure you that it will be very much insta-worthy.

A photo posted by Kin Au Yeung (@kin_ay) on Apr 11, 2015 at 7:24pm PDT

boyfriend went on a completely clear day and the view was simply just sick.

#4 Dragon’s Back
difficulty: 7/10
this location probably has the most foreigners as it is easily accessible by bus at Shek O. it doesn’t really have the concrete jungle view, but it overlooks Stanley and the beautiful blue sea. none of my pictures on this post are filtered nor had their colours been adjusted. so you can see just how beautiful it is!

here, you can take breath taking pictures with yourself in it (the first few locations are quite difficult to do so) and I highly recommend this place as a dating trail. although it is not difficult to get up there, it is quite tricky to finish the entire trail. the roads are not very well maintained and if you go there after a rainy day like I did, the weather may be amazing, but the roads are slippery and dangerous.

what I love about Dragon’s Back is that it allows you to pretend to be a daredevil hahaha.

and then there’s this stone you can climb onto too! (if you are wondering why the countless amount of peace signs, it’s actually to block the wind from blowing my hair all over my face haha. well, at least on one side.)

the views just breath taking no matter where you look!

#5 Sai Wan Trail in Sai Kung (from Sai Wan Pavilion to Pak Tam Au)
difficulty: 8/10
I like to leave the best for the last. and hence, this place is probably one of the most beautiful trails in Hong Kong. but it is also the most difficult to access and very tiring to finish as it is very very long. our hike took us a long 5 hours to finish including lunch break. the breath-taking view literally costs a lot of breaths to be taken. however, the trail is very well made and there are concrete steps. so as difficult and as tiresome as it is, this trail is actually quite friendly to the healthy elderly and kids. the Sai Wan Pavilion (starting point) can only be reached by taxi, hence it may be a little costly to go alone. try going in groups of 4!

you can walk along two beaches as you hike, and those beaches are phenomenal. both with small eateries available for you to grab a quick bike or have a rest.

I like how Sai Wan makes me feel like I have completely escaped the hustling and bustling city center.

the beautiful beaches attract not only hikers but also surfers! there were even tents built here and there.

oh hello! look at those rocks!

if you think you are too tired and cannot go on hiking, you can even take the boat rides back to Sai Kung. although it may cost a fair bit.

if you managed to make it all the way through the mountains, you will end up at a location (either straight or walk down the stairs) where you can either walk all the way to the Pak Tam Au or take a boat there via Chek Keng Pier. taking the boat may be quite difficult for foreigners as the boats are privately ran and the old uncle and aunties only speak Cantonese.  but I do not see why you shouldn’t because it is a rather exciting and memorable experience!

after hiking, the bus at Pak Tam Au takes you back to Sai Kung Town Center and nearby the final stop, you’ll find many restaurants selling seafood (that’s what Sai Kung’s famous for). the seafood sold there ain’t cheap. although in HK, I actually really enjoy this Thai Restaurant that serves really authentic Thai food! (Sawaddee) I enjoyed it so much I took the bus there simply just to eat the salted grilled fish there again!

for more information on how to get to the trails and other available trails in HK, you can visit the official HK tourism website: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/ or use everyone’s best friend: Google Maps> Directions. =D. have fun!