Cicerone

A poster had asked for some suggestions on doing the "Dragon's Back" walk, and as I thought it might be of general interest, I have posted it as a separate post here. Hope it is helpful.

The "Dragon's Back" refers to the portion of the walk on the south side of Hong Kong Island which is atop a high mountain ridge and offers spectacular beach and water views on both sides. You will see Shek O beach and village, Big Wave Beach, the Stanley headland, sweeping views of the South China Sea, and inland towards Tai Tam and its reservoirs and green valleys. For people who think Hong Kong is just shopping malls and skyscrapers, this walk is a revelation, and as it can be reached by a 10-minute taxi ride from the Chai Wan MTR, it is easy for tourists to get to and appreciate. This walk can be long or short depending on how you want to do it. The actual walk along the Dragon's Back ridge is only about 30 minutes; the shortest version of this walk from start to finish is just under 2 hours, but you could make a walk of more than 3 hours if you wanted to walk to Deep Water Bay, or about 6 hours if you wanted to start from Happy Valley above Central.

I prefer to approach the Dragon's Back ridge via the northwestern access trail as I think it is a bit less steep than the southwestern access trail, and -- more importantly -- as fewer concrete stairs have been built on the northwest trail, there is more loose soil and soil stairs, and I have found that it is easier to climb UP loose soil and soil stairs than to struggle down on loose pebbly dirt paths which can be slippery and where footing is not as sure. However, using the southwestern approach up to the ridge is doable, many walkers use that route.

If possible, having a walking pole is helpful in climbing up and down either approach to the Dragon's Back ridge. You can buy them in Stanley and often in the night markets or other outdoor markets in Kowloon on Central for about HK$50. However, many walkers go without them. Many children are on this walk as well as older people, so it appears that walkers of all abilities can handle the climb and the trail conditions. Hiking boots are preferred but not essential, but sneakers or something with a good gripping sole are necessary.

Bring at least one bottle of water, as there is no place on or even near the trails to buy any water. There are occasion spots where water pumps out of cliffsides as it filters down from the mountaintops, and you will see that locals often have places buckets here to collect the water; there is a theory that this water is good for you, I have not tried it, but don't know any stories of people getting ill from it either, so give it a try if you want.

This Dragon's Back trail is quite popular on weekends, but on weekdays you may have it all to yourself. Mountain bikes are also allowed on the trail, which leads to some of the erosion problems which IMO make the northwestern approach better taken upwards rather than downwards.

A somewhat useful map of the area can be found at http://wiki.worldflicks.org/stanley,_hong_kong, the Shek O area is known as D'Aguilar Peninsula. Tai Long Wan is the Chinese name for Big Wave Bay. Shek O beach is south of that. The street map version does not show any hiking trails or bus stops, but you can switch to the satellite picture mode to get an idea of the terrain (you can see the Dragon's Back trail on the satellite version, it is the larger dirt trail running straight down the picture right below where it says "Shek O County Park" in green; this map is something).

The main bus stop to start the walk is the To Tei Wan bus top on Shek O Road. Another bus stop which is used is the Cape Collision Road bus stop also on Shek O Road. On the main bus routes, the Cape Collision stop is the first stop on Shek O Road after the turn off from Tai Tam Road. The To Tei Wan Stop is the fourth stop on Shek O Road. However, it may be hard to tell you have reached a stop, as buses do not stop at every stop; they only stop if someone wants to get on or off. Also, the bus stop signs are tiny, and some of the stops are just a signpost on the road, and not a bus stop which you may be thinking of (i.e., a separate area for the bus to pull off the road and a bus shelter), so you may not even know you are passing a stop. Finally, the minibuses often use a different routing altogether, and will stop anyplace a passenger wants, so you can easily lose count if you are on a minibus. Given all this, IMO it is best to take a taxi TO the appropriate bus stop from either an MTR station, Stanley or even Central (if you don't mind paying for it). You can always take a bus back, as it is easy to find the stops as a pedestrian, and many versions of the walks described below end right at a bus stop or quite close to one.

Note that it is VERY hard to find available taxis on Shek O road at the end of a walk. You generally have to go into Shek O village or Big Wave Bay to find free ones. You can take a bus into Shek O village or Big Wave Bay, have a meal and then find a taxi back out to the MTR or back to Central.

The Chinese name for the Cape Collision bus stop on Shek O Road is哥連臣角 土地灣 located at哥連臣角火葬場.

The To Tei Wan bus stop on Shek O Road is土地灣 located at土地灣村對面. You can show these to a bus or taxi driver.

Taxis drivers do not expect or need to be tipped, but you can leave the change, i.e. if the fare is HK$45, you can give a $50 bill, the $5 tip is more than appreciated. For the trip from Chai Wan MTR to the Cape Collision bus stop the fare is only HK$17.40, and as flag fall starts as HK$15, I personally would give the driver a $20 for such a short trip. Drivers often cannot change a $500 bill and so try to have $20, $50 or $100s will you.

Bus fares are all over the place, figure on full fares of between US$1 and US$2 each way, depending on whether you go from Central or one of the closer MTR stations or Stanley. But pretty cheap basically. Buses do not give change so an Octopus card is handy, but you can always give more than the exact fare, i.e. if the fare is HK$8, you can just give HK$10, the extra HK$2 is the equivalent of 0.25 US$, so really what is the loss there. One person can also pay the fare for two people or more.

Below are some options for walking the Dragon's Back plus a great walk to Big Wave Bay.

OPTION #1 DRAGON'S BACK LOOP – TO/FROM TO TEI WAN BUS STOP

This walk is mostly just the Dragon's Back ridge portion, plus an easy flat portion, and will start and end at the To Tei Wan bus stop on Shek O Road. Doing this loop will offer views virtually the entire way, and avoids the boring parts through deeper woods with no views. Start to finish at a fairly good pace with a few stops this should take just under 2 hours.

To get to the start of the walk, you have several choices:

1. Take the MTR to the last station at Chai Wan, look for Exit Door C, and take a taxi to the To Tei Wan stop. (About 10 minutes). Taxi fare would be about HK$45 (just under US$6). IMO this is the easiest way to get to the start.

2. Take the MTR to the Shau Kei Wan station, exit Door A3 and take a taxi or Bus #9 to the To Tei Wan stop. (About 25 minutes). I am guessing taxi fare at about US$15.

3. Take the #6 bus from Central to Stanley and then a taxi. (About 40 minutes to Stanley, about 15 minutes to the To Tei Wan bus stop, taxi fare from Stanley is about US$10). The bus ride to Stanley on the #6 is one of the best in Hong Kong, great views. Sit upstairs, in the very front if you can. There are other buses which go to Stanley, some of which go through the Aberdeen tunnel, and some of which are not double deckers, IMO, you want this #6 which is the double decker and goes the mountain route to get the best ride and views. However, the #973 from Central via Pokfulam Road is pretty darn good too. Avoid 6X. IMO this is the prettiest way to get to the walk, albeit it will take you a while. Might be good for the way back, esp. if you want to shop in Stanley in the afternoon. (But don't go back in the dark, you will miss the point of the ride!)

4. On weekends and public holidays, take bus #309 from the bus terminal in Central (about an hour).

5. Take a taxi from Central. About 25 minutes, I am guessing at a fare of about US$25, is probably a bit more. Certainly easy. Surprisingly, not nearly as scenic as the bus because the bus gives you the elevation to appreciate the views, esp the double deckers.

OK, assuming you have safely reached the To Tei Wan bus stop and have alighted from the taxi/bus, look for the wooden signboard/map here for the Hong Kong trail. (The To Tei Wan Bus stop is more of a "real" bus stop, i.e. with a bus shelter (but no road pull-off). There is also a port-a-john here, the last you may see for a while. Fairly clean.) Facing the signboard, look for a set of concrete stairs off to the left. Take these stairs. You will climb up for a while, maybe 10-15 minutes. You will come to an intersection, with a wooden sign, with one way pointing up to the right saying "Dragon's Back" and the other way pointing along a flat trail. Go STRAIGHT along the flat trail. (You are going to access the Dragon's Back from another point further along the flat trail.) The straight ahead path is a very pleasant easy, flat trail with nice water and mountain views off to the west. After about 30 minutes you will come to another intersection, with another wooden sign, with one pointing off to the right saying "Dragon's Back". Go RIGHT and up the hill. This will lead you up and onto the ridge which is the Dragon's Back. You will have great water and land views on both sides for quite a while. There are benches at some points. The trail will then start to descend with stairs, and you will find yourself back at an intersection, with the wooden signs (this is the first intersection you came to at the start of the walk.) Go LEFT at the signs and walk down the hill back to the bus station.

At the end of this walk, if you want to go into Shek O or Big Wave Bay, stay on the same side of the road and take the next bus which arrives (this may be a big bus #9 or 309 or a small yellow/red minibus, you can take any). Big Wave Bay will be the first major stop after the bus has wound its way around a headland with a sweeping view and down a long sloping hill; the Big Wave Bay stop is a large parking lot, the beach is about a ¼ mile walk down the road. If you want to go onto Shek O, stay on the bus to the next stop, as the bus will make a stop at the tiny art deco Shek-O bus station in Shek-O village (there are 2 road side stops before that, but this Shek-O bus station is an actual little bus station so you will know you have arrived).

If you want to go back to Central or Stanley or an MTR station, then cross the street and walk about 10-15 feet to the right to the small sign that marks the bus station for buses out of Shek O Road.

OPTION #1.5: DRAGON'S BACK RIDGE ONLY- TO/FROM TO TEI WAN BUS STOP

You could of course, just literally do the Dragon's Back ridge alone by going up from the bus stop, going right at the first intersection, walking up along the ridge, and then turning around and walking back as soon as the trail starts to descend after about 30 minutes (or when you can see the downhill part beginning which is pretty easy to tell coming from the south). Time spent walking would be about the same as Option #1 above, and you would get twice the views. The ascent and descent would be not bad either. Up to you.

OPTION #2: CHAI WAN MTR/DRAGON'S BACK/ END TO TEI WAN BUS STOP

This is longer, about 2.5 hours, and does have a boring part of almost an hour in the middle which is along an flat easy trail with virtually no views, but in some pretty deep woods. However, the beginning part starts in an interesting very local part of town and includes a walk through a Chinese cemetery which I think is quite interesting (Christian and Buddhist), and has some great city and water views as well. The climb up through the cemetery is steep, but is on stairs or a road and if taken slowly is not bad. The approach to the Dragon's Back ridge is from the northwest, which IMO is the easier end.

To get to the walk, take the MTR to the Chai Wan station. Exit Door E (Hing Wah Estate), which is through a few shops, walk across an outdoor elevated walkway to another tiny mall, about 10 feet in, the hallway splits, bear left. Ignore the escalators on the left, head straight ahead. Look for a pair of escalators about 30 feet ahead and to the right of the PriceRite electronic shop. Go down the escalator. Exit out the front. You are on Wan Tsiu Road. The road heading out perpendicular to you across the street is where you want to go (Lin Shing Road), cross the street here and head up the gentle slope of Lin Shing Road. If you look up, you can see the cemetery built high into the side of the hill at the end of the road.

Lin Shing Road will end at a crossroad with the cemetery. See the small road leading into the cemetery, with gates and the blue sign "Chinese Permanent Cemetery". Go up this road through the gates. Stay on the road as it winds around and up the hill in the cemetery. If you want to take a small shortcut, about midway up the hill, there is a staircase, you can take this up and it will again join the road after maybe 100 feet. Or you can stay on the road. Further up, the road will have a gate across it where it is closed to further road traffic, but you can walk through the pedestrian gate; at the second turn in the road after this gate, look for a set of stairs on the right, and a sign for Section 21 (1-8). Go up these stairs all the way to the top and out through the fence in the back. There is another set of stairs here leading up the hill in the woods and a small sign that says "Emergency help line". Take these stairs up (If you want to get some further views first, you can walk along the concrete skirt behind the cemetery here, it goes on for quite a while and gives some harbour views.)

When you get to the top of this second set of stairs above the cemetery in the woods, you will be in a large open field. A small gazebo will be on your left and a wooden map board in front of you. Go RIGHT onto the road here, and follow this road for about 15 minutes through the woods, with some views. You will come to an intersection with a concrete path, the road will continue downhill. There is a wooden sign which says "Dragons' Back". (There are bathrooms here.) Go LEFT at the sign. This will be a mostly flat path through deep woods for about 30-40 minutes. You will then come to an intersection with a wooden sign, one pointing uphill and saying "Dragons' Back". Go LEFT at this sign. This will lead you up and onto the ridge which is the Dragon's Back. You will have great water and land views on both sides for quite a while. There are benches at some points. The trail will then start to descend with stairs, and you will find yourself at another intersection with wooden signs. Go LEFT at the signs and walk down the hill to the To Tei Wan bus station.

OPTION #3: NOT THE DRAGON, BUT A GREAT WALK TO BIG WAVE BAY

This walk offers some equally spectacular views as the Dragon's Back IMO, and is somewhat easier than the Dragon's Back, as other than the Chinese Cemetery portion, all of it is flat or downhill. You also get to see the Chinese cemetery which is interesting. (However, there is a way to miss the cemetery and most of the Chinese Cemetery hill, see below.) It ends in Big Wave Bay, which has the great Blue Room for lunch and is just a fun place to watch the surfer dudes and the lovely water views. You will also get to see some of the most expensive homes on earth (albeit from a distance, but closer than from the Dragon's Back; I just want to live in the servants quarters at #10). From the Chai Wan MTR to the beach at Big Wave Bay, the walk is about 1.5 hours or just over. There are three covered gazebo/pagoda areas for a picnic lunch, making this a good walk for a picnic. Also, there are no mountain bikers allowed, which is one of the problems with the Dragon's Back.

To get to the walk, take the MTR to the Chai Wan station. Exit Door E (Hing Wah Estate), which is through a few shops, walk across an outdoor elevated walkway to a tiny mall, about 10 feet in, the hallway splits, bear left. Ignore the escalators on the left, head straight ahead. Look for a pair of escalators about 30 feet ahead and to the right of the Price Rite electronic shop. Go down the escalator. Exit out the doors. You are on Wan Tsui Road. The road heading out perpendicular to you across the street is where you want to go (Lin Shing Road), cross the street here and head up the gentle slope of Lin Shing Road. If you look up, you can see the cemetery built into the side of the big hill at the end of the road.

Lin Shing Road will end at a crossroad with the cemetery. See the small road leading into the cemetery, with gates and the blue sign "Chinese Permanent Cemetery". Go up this road through the gates. Stay on the road as it winds around and up the hill. If you want to take a small shortcut, about midway up the hill, there is a staircase, you can take this up and it will again join the road after maybe 100 feet. Or you can stay on the road. Further up, the road will have a gate across it where it is closed to further road traffic, but you can walk through the pedestrian gate; at the second turn in the road after this gate, look for a set of stairs leading up to the right, and a sign for Section 21 (1-8). Go up these stairs all the way to the top and out through the fence in the back. There is another set of stairs here leading up the hill and a small sign that says "Emergency help line". Take these stairs up. (If you want to get some further views first, you can walk along the concrete skirt behind the cemetery here, it goes on for quite a while and gives some harbour views.).

When you get to the top of this second set of stairs above the cemetery in the woods, you will be in a large open field. A small gazebo will be on your left, a trail signboard will be in front of you, and you will also see a concrete pathway and a small concrete rain water gully (called a catchment) off to your left. (There is one straight ahead of you as well.). Follow the catchment running to your LEFT, and keeping the gazebo on your RIGHT, walk along the concrete path along the railing following the catchment. Ignore the set of stairs which will start off to your right just as the field ends and the woods begin. Follow the catchment for about 10-15 minutes through the woods until you come to an intersection with a wooden sign, one pointing to the right saying "Big Wave Bay". Go RIGHT at this sign. From here on in you will have really fantastic views of the sea, beaches and mountains as the trail descends by stairs gently down the cliffside to the beach. It looks a little like Carmel and also a little like the coast of the Hana Highway on Maui to me. Stop and see the surfers on the beach. There are public bathrooms here as well as the Blue Room restaurant. When you are ready to leave, follow the little road up out of the beach with the surf shacks selling surf boards to the parking lot where there is a bus stop and a taxi stand. If you want to walk to Shek O, follow the road, bearing left at the roundabout, for about a mile until you come to the village.

To get back to Central from Big Wave Bay, from the parking lot you can take a taxi to the Chai Wan MTR, or a taxi or bus #9 to Shau Kei Wan, or a taxi to Stanley and then the #6 or 973 bus back to Central. On weekends and public holidays only, there is bus #309 straight to Central, and also a yellow/red minibus which runs very frequently to the Shau Kei Wan MTR station (it stops first at Shek-O, so the bus may say "Shek-O" on the front, just ask if you are not sure).

OPTION #4: BIG WAVE BAY OR DRAGON'S BACK FROM CAPE COLLISION BUS STOP

Taking a taxi or a bus to this stop is a way to avoid the big climb up the hill through the Chinese Cemetery from the Chai Wan MTR. This walk will lead you to the northwest approach to the Dragon's Back through the fairly boring 30-40 minute stretch of flat trail in the woods with no views at all. For that reason, I generally would suggest NOT using this bus stop for the Dragon's Back, but rather continuing by taxi/bus on Shek O road to the To Tei Wan stop and doing the Dragon's Back Loop at Option 1. It's just prettier via that route as you will have views for almost the entire walk, with virtually the same walking length in time and distance. However, if you want to do the walk to Big Wave Bay at Option #3 above, and want to avoid about ¾ of the steep hill walk up through the Chinese Cemetery from the Chai Wan MTR, then taking a taxi or the bus to this bus stop is a good way to do that walk. This is also a good option if you are coming from Stanley and want to do a nice walk to Big Wave Bay: just take a taxi or bus from Stanley to the Cape Collision bus stop.

To get to the Cape Collision bus stop, you have several choices:

1. Take the MTR to the last stop at Chai Wan, look for Exit Door C, and take a taxi to the Cape Collision stop. (About 5 minutes). Taxi fare is HK$17-18 (about US$2). In my opinion, this is the best way to make the trip.

2. Take the MTR to the Shau Kei Wan, exit Door A3 and take a taxi or Bus #9 to the Cape Collision stop. (About 20 minutes). I am guessing taxi fare at about US$12.

3. Take the #6 bus from Central to Stanley and then a taxi (about 40 minutes to Stanley, about 10-15 minutes to the Cape Collision bus stop, taxi fare from Stanley is about US$10). The bus ride to Stanley on the #6 is one of the best in Hong Kong, great views. Sit upstairs, in the very front if you can. (There are other buses which go to Stanley, some of which go through the Aberdeen tunnel, and some of which are not double deckers, IMO, you want this #6 which is the double decker and goes the mountain route to get the best ride and views. However, the #973 from Central via Pokfulam Road is pretty darn good too. Avoid 6X)

4. On weekends and public holidays, take bus #309 from the bus terminal in Central (about an hour).

5. take a taxi from Central. About 25 minutes, I am guessing at a fare of about US$25, is probably a bit more. Surprisingly, not nearly as scenic as the bys because the bus gives you the elevation to appreciate the views, esp the double deckers.

The Cape Collision bus stop is at the intersection of Cape Collision Road and Shek-O Road. The taxi will take you from the MTR station up Cape Collision Road through a different part of the cemetery, climbing a long hill and will turn left onto Shek-O Road and will stop at the bus stop. (If you are coming by bus from Shau Kei Wan or Stanley, this stop is about 20 feet in from the roundabout onto Shek O Road, at the first street on the left, which is Cape Collision Road.) There is no bus shelter or road indent, just a small sign. Once you get out at the stop, continuing walking down the left side of the road away from the bus stop for about another 15 feet until you come to the next street on the left, which is the Tai Tam Correctional Facility. Look for the wooden sign board for Shek-O Country Park and a set of concrete stairs leading up into the hill into the woods next to it. Go up the stairs. The stairs will take you up onto a road, head uphill along the road, past some buildings for the correctional facility on your right. Walk around the road barrier for road traffic. The road is a bit uphill, and after a few hundred yards you will come to an intersection. The road will lead off to the left and a concrete trail will lead off to the right. There are bathrooms here.

FOR BIG WAVE BAY - Go LEFT and follow the road to the big open field about 10-15 minutes down the road. Toward the end of the field, you will see a small gazebo, and a trail signboard, you will also see a concrete catchment and railing on the left. (There is one to your right as well.). Follow the catchment running to your LEFT, and keeping the gazebo on your RIGHT, walk along the concrete path and the railing following the catchment. Ignore the set of stairs which will start off to your right just as the field ends and the woods begin. Follow the catchment for about 10-15 minutes through the woods until you come to an intersection with a wooden sign, one pointing to the right saying "Big Wave Bay". Go RIGHT at this sign. Follow the path down into Big Wave Bay. From the Cape Collision bus stop to Big Wave Bay, the walk is about 1.5 hours.

FOR THE DRAGON'S BACK - Go RIGHT, and follow the path. This will be a mostly flat path through deep woods for about 30-40 minutes. You will then come to an intersection with a wooden sign, one pointing uphill and saying "Dragons' Back". Go LEFT at this sign. This will lead you up and onto the ridge which is the Dragon's Back. You will have great water and land views on both sides for quite a while. There are benches at some points. The trail will then start to descend with stairs, and you will find yourself at another intersection with wooden signs. Go LEFT at the signs and walk down the hill to the To Tei Wan bus station. From the Cape Collision bus stop to the To Tei Wan bus stop is about 2 hours.

Option #5 – DRAGON'S BACK TO BIG WAY BAY

This is a very good walk, but will take about 3.5 hours all in, and will require a descent down the northwest side of the Dragon's Back, which while not technically difficult, is steeper and does not have as many stairs built into it as the southwest side, so can be more slippery and tiring. It also has a somewhat boring part of about an hour in the middle over a flat trail ,with no views, between the Dragon's Back and Big Wave Bay. However, all in all it is a good workout and some of the best views going for more than half of the 3.5 hours.

From the To Tei Wan Bus stop, go up the stairs to the first intersection, go RIGHT and up onto the Dragon's Back ridge. Walk along the ridge, and then down the hill to the next intersection, go RIGHT here. Walk through the woods on the flat trail for 40 minutes or so until you come to an intersection with a road leading downhill and uphill, go RIGHT and up the gentle slope, it flattens out and continues for about 15 minutes with very limited views. You will come into an open field. A small gazebo will be ahead of you, and you will also see a concrete pathway and a small concrete rain water gully catchment off to your left. (There is one on the right as well.). Follow the catchment running to your LEFT, and keeping the gazebo on your RIGHT, walk along the concrete path along the railing following the catchment. Ignore the set of stairs which will start off to your right just as the field ends and the woods begin. Follow the catchments for about 10-15 minutes through the woods until you come to an intersection with a wooden sign, one pointing to the right saying "Big Wave Bay". Go RIGHT at this sign, and walk down into Big Wave Bay.

Some restaurant suggestions are below. For weekend lunches (and on public holidays), I would make a reservation for sure, esp. for Shek O and Big Wave Bay. These may be closed on Mondays, call ahead to make sure. None are open for breakfast as far as I know.

Blue Room
Tel: 2809 2583
Big Wave Bay Beach

Very casual outdoor dining on the beach, covered terrace from the sun and rain. Pizza and other western dishes. Very nice water views.

Black Sheep Restaurant
452 Shek O Village
Tel: 2809 2021

Good food, no views at all, as it is back in the village, but a nice spot in Shek O

Shek O Chinese and Thailand Seafood Restaurant
303 Shek O Village
Tel: 2809 4426

A long time favourite, again no views, much more casual than Black Sheep, but good food.

The Boathouse
86–88 Stanley Main Street
Stanley
Tel: 2813 4467

One of many good restaurants in Stanley, just one of my more favourite ones. I like the upstairs terrace tables for good views of the water and off the street which can be noisy.

Kooba

Thank you so much Cicerone. This write up was even better than what I was expecting. So comprehensive.

Just checked the weather for HK and it seems like perfect hiking weather.

We leave on Friday... let's hope it stays nice and warm into next week.

barefootbeach

cicerone,
this is read so many years later than posted, but I'm truly amazed at the level of detail you provide. You're truly a gift to the Forum.

WWanderer

Cicerone, thanks for this and other postings.

ms_go

Topping this to say how amazing these directions are! We did option #3 today...partly for time available and partly because the weather isn't great (however, we didn't get rained on, and that's all that I care about). Without this, I'm not sure we would have made it past the MTR station. Thanks for this and other posts, which we've also been using!

kmkrnn

C is the best and gives great info..