There’s more to Hong Kong than skyscrapers, shopping and Jackie Chan movies, as I found out when tackling Hong Kong’s Monkey Trail.
“The Monkey Trail is a very good name,” I think to myself while battling along the steep path, ducking low branches and pulling myself along by grabbing exposed tree roots. The ability to swing from one tree to the next would certainly be an advantage. The air is oppressive and heavy with mist. I’ve never felt humidity like this. My clothes and hair are soon soaked and plastered to my skin. Most of the group has disappeared into the fog well-ahead of me. I cannot keep up the pace and seriously consider turning back in defeat.
But my companions’ assurances that only the first hour would be hard work, combined with some friendly encouragement from a fellow straggler keep me going. After about 45 minutes of bashing through the undergrowth and scrambling up a near vertical cliff face, I finally reach the end of the climb; scratched, dirty and breathing hard. Oh yes, Monkey Trail is a very good name.
The Monkey Trail is in Hong Kong’s Pat Sin Leng Country Park in the Northwest New Territories, only 40 minutes by public transport from the famous skyline of Victoria Harbour. If you’re somewhat surprised to find hikers in Hong Kong, you’re not alone. When most people think of Hong Kong they think of skyscrapers, duty-free shopping and Kung Fu movies.
Yet around 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s 400 square miles of land is designated as protected country parks (the equivalent of a National Park in Australia) and these are filled with hundreds of kilometres of hiking trails. While most are located in the New Territories, walking trails exist in central Hong Kong too. Among the best-known is the Dragon’s Back hike. In 2004 Time Magazine named it Asia’s best urban hike. Hiking is an extremely popular pastime with the Hong Kong locals, particularly its health-conscious senior citizens. Western visitors have been slower to catch on. But the word is slowly getting out.
Today I’m walking with the Hong Kong Trampers, an informal group of regular walkers who take a hike in a different part of Hong Kong every Sunday. With so many trails to choose from, they are able to do a different hike each weekend for a good six months before needing to repeat one. About half of the Hong Kong Trampers are locals with the remainder foreign ex-pats. Travellers are also welcome on most walks providing they have the appropriate clothing, footwear and fitness level.
Once we regroup after the Monkey Trail we tackle the Pat Sing Leng Nature Trail and its eight peaks, known either as the Eight Fairies or the Eight Immortals. Each is named after a figure in Chinese mythology. The trail crosses the range of peaks by a series of steep descents and ascents on stone stairs. Although steep, the peaks are a cinch after the Monkey Trail and we cross all eight summits in just over an hour. My companions tell me that the views from the top on a clear day are superb. I’ll have to take their word for it. Today the peaks are shrouded in a thick mist that, while limiting visibility provides the illusion of walking in the clouds. After crossing the eight peaks it’s on to stages 9 and 10 of the long distance Wilson Trail before heading back into Tai Mei Tuk village.
Francis is a Hong Kong local who has enjoyed hiking the trails for years. He also travels abroad regularly to hike. He tells me that his tales of hiking in Hong Kong are often met with disbelief.
“I think ninety-nine per cent of tourists come to Hong Kong to just enjoy the city and perhaps the harbour and beaches and they stop there,” he says. “It’s sad that few of them venture to the outer flanks of Hong Kong where great hiking areas are amidst some world class scenery.”
Jackie Peers, co-founder of Walk Hong Kong says her clients are often surprised that you can be so quickly into the greenery on Hong Kong island, so close to skyscrapers.
“We get a very big ‘Wow factor’ with our work,” she says. Walk Hong Kong operates commercial guided hikes based on sections of Hong Kong’s long-distance trails – the 100 kilometre MacLehose Trail and the Wilson Trail – along with hikes and guided urban walks on Hong Kong Island.
Francis believes the easy access to Hong Kong’s trails afforded by the public transport system and the great variety of hikes available on well-marked, safe trails will one day elevate Hong Kong to one of the world’s top hiking destinations. And he doesn’t mind sharing with more visitors.
“I believe that good things in the world, such as hiking in beautiful places, are better shared as long as it goes with a clear message that we should love and keep our natural environment clean and intact. Trampers do not own Mother Nature. Good things are to be shared.”
Travels with My Teddy Archive, 1 March 2009.