Hong Kongers love superlatives, even if making them true requires strings of qualifiers. So the Tian Tan Buddha is the world's largest Buddha -- that's seated, located outdoors, and made of bronze. It doesn't need the epithets: its vast silhouette against the sky is impressive. Steep stairs lead to the lower podium, essentially forcing you to stare up at all 242 1/2 tons of Buddha as you ascend. At the top, cool breezes and fantastic views over Lantau Island await.

Po Lin Monastery. It's hard to believe today, but from its foundation in 1927 through the early '90s, this monastery was virtually inaccessible by road. These days, it's at the heart of Lantau's biggest attraction. The monastery proper has a gaudy, commercial, orange temple complex. Still, it's the Buddha people come for.

Wisdom Path. This peaceful path runs beside 38 halved tree trunks arranged in an infinity shape on a hillside. Each is carved with Chinese characters that make up the Heart Sutra, a 5th-century Buddhist prayer that expresses the doctrine of emptiness. The idea is to walk around the path -- which takes 5 minutes -- and reflect. To reach it, follow the signposted trail to the left of the Buddha.

Ngong Ping Village. People were fussing about this attraction before its first stone was laid. Ngong Ping Village is a money-making add-on to the Tian Tan Buddha. Indeed, if a journey here is one of enlightenment, then Nirvana is much easier to reach than previously thought. Walking With Buddha is intended to be an educational stroll through the life of Siddartha Gautama, the first Buddha, but it's more of a multimedia extravaganza that shuns good taste with such kitsch as a self-illuminating Bodhi tree and piped-in incense. No cost has been spared in the dioramas that fill the seven galleries -- ironic, given that each represents a stage of the Buddha's path to enlightenment and the eschewing of material wealth.