Kowloon Reservoir to Shatin Pass via Mac 4 (Beacon Hill-煙墩山)

Duration: 
10k, 3.5 hours

Difficulty: 

6/10. 495m elevation gain.

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere.

Water needs: 1 liter.

Appreciation: 8/10. Nice views of Kowloon and the harbour on a clear day

Map & Details: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/2637043513/

Exercise Area: There is one "homemade" exercise area with 3 chin-up bars

Transportation: Bus 72 or 81. Get off at Shek Lei Pui Reservoir. Return via Wong Tai Sin MTR.

Why it's worth it: 

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Get off the bus at Shek Lei Pui Reservoir at take the footbridge over the highway

Left right after the footbridge. There might be a number of monkeys there

Down the ramp and right at the road

Up the stairs and to the left at the Eagle's Nest Nature Trail. The nature trail and Maclehose 4 are overlapping for a while. You can always refer to the little hiking guy sign to give you the direction. And the Maclehose distance posts every 500meters

Up at the gazebo

Up!

Where do these stairs go? They go up!

About 1.5 hour and 4.7km in, you will arrive at the gazebo at the foot of Lion Rock.
Take the path straight, by the plaque on the stone

About 100m farther up, there will be a split. We took a left. The right will get you up-top Lion Rock and will ultimately connect back to Mac 4. So, up to you, but climbing Lion Rock is adding quite a bit more stairs.
Anyhow, from this point on, just keep going on Maclehose 4 for about another 5.5km

You'll end up here: Shatin Pass. Go down right towards Wong Tai Sin. But before you do so, you can go to the toilet and/or get some food/drinks at the store on the left (circled)

Fishballs! The hikers' delight!

Just follow the road all the way down until you see the signs for the MTR.

MacLehose Section 9 & 10

Duration: 

(21.9 kilometers) Between 5.5 and 6.5 hours depending on walking speed.

Difficulty: 4/10. Quite easy, long as there is not way to get back between sections 9 and 10.

Appreciation: 3/10. Boring, mostly paved. If you want full bragging rights for MacLehose, you gotta do it. If you want to experience the best of Hong Kong trails, that is not one of them.

Transportation: Get to the Twen Wan West MTR station. Exit D. Walk to the Nina Tower bus terminal (about 5 minutes). Take KMB bus 51 (http://hketransport.gov.hk). Stop at 郊野公園 COUNTRY PARK. 

At the end of the trail, just follow my instructions to get to Tuen Mun MTR, about 500 meters from trail end.

Why it's worth it: 
It really isn't compared to the other sections but here's an idea

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Exit 'D' at Tsuen Wan West. 5 minutes walk to Nina Tower bus terminus (the tallest building you see coming out of the MTR station)

Take KMB 51 and stop at Country Park. Retrace your steps a little bit. The trail head as by the big 'Welcome to Yuen Long' sign.

Go past the gate, hang out right and follow the road that is going up a little bit. From there, follow the  milestones posts and the little hiker signs, you should not get lost. Remember, there's one milestone every 500 meters.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

This is almost at the end. You may be tempted to use the shortcut on the left but that is not the end of MacLehose section 10. About 2 more clicks to go.

That's the trail end. The Tuen Mun MTR station is on the road  going straight in front of you (not the one  perpendicular to you)

You want to cross the road on the left side so you can then take the pedestrian walkway that parallels Pui To road. Once off the walkway, go underneath the highway to be on the right of Pui To Rd. About 300 meters along Pui To, you will find the entrance to Tuen Mun's MTR.

MacLehose section 7&8

Duration: 

(17 kilometers) Between 5 and 6 hours depending on walking speed.

Difficulty: 8.5/10. Climb the highest mountain in Hong Kong, Tai Mo Shan, at 960 meters.

Appreciation: 7.5/10. You must absolutely go on a clear day to enjoy the views as you are going to be quite high and risk being in the clouds otherwise.

Transportation:  4 minutes green minibus 94/94a ride from Kwai Hing MTR. (http://hketransport.gov.hk). Stop at 'Wo Yi Hop Road, Opposite Mrs. Wu York Yu Health Centre' (94) or 'Wo Yi Hop Road, Outside Lei Muk Shue Estate Redevelopment Project' (94a). The path starts in front of the Lei Muk Shue Shopping Centre. Or, you can walk there from Kwai Hing (about 1.5k).

At the end of Section 8, you'll end up on Route Twisk right next to a bus stop where KMB bus 51 (郊野公園 COUNTRY PARK stop) will bring you to the Tsuen Wan West MTR station (about 15 minutes).

Garmin:  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/230784602 

Why it's worth it: 

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Out of Kwai Hing MTR Exit B, you should be able to find green minibus 94 or 94A easily.

Take 94/94A to Lei Muk Shue Shopping Centre.  

Or walk there from Kwai Hing. About 1.5k.

Map to the trail head.

Cross Wo Yi Hop Road, climb the stairs, go by the pumping station and up the paved road.

You'll be walking for about 10 minutes to an intersection at the  end of the road, right  by the reservoir.
Turn right. You'll walk another 100 or so meters to the BBQ site which is the beginning of Section 7.

Go over the dam.

Turn right just after the dam.

After 25 meters or so, you'll be at the  Section 7 trail arch. That's where you want to go.
Don't make the mistake of going on the paved road.

Just follow the MacLehose signs and distance posts (every 500 meters) and there should be no problems.
This fork is about halfway into section 7.

End of section 7. Washrooms and a little gazebo to take a quick break.
When ready,  go on to section 8 behind the washrooms.

Last point which may be misleading, about 150 meters after the start of Section 8; you will turn right.

MacLehose Section 6

Duration: 

(4.6 kilometers) Between 45 minutes and an hour depending on walking speed.

Difficulty: 3/10. Quite easy, really short.

Appreciation: 4/10. Kinda boring but if you like monkeys, you'll see plenty! If you want full bragging rights for MacLehose, you gotta do it.

Transportation: Many ways to get to the starting point from many MTR stations. Check bus routes 81 (Jordan Road next to Austin MTR, Nathan road next to Prince Edward MTR), 86 or 86B for the most convenient one (http://hketransport.gov.hk). Stop at 石梨貝水塘 SHEK LEI PUI RESERVOIR. 
At the end of the trail, just follow my instructions to get to Wo Yi Hop Road where you will be able to catch buses going pretty much anywhere you need (city bus 278, 278x, 248p, etc, or green minibus 94/94a to Kwai Hing MTR) or even walk to Kwai Hing MTR which is about 1km away.

Why it's worth it: 

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Click to enlarge

The Sheik Lei Pui Reservoir bus stop were you will get off.
Go under the bridge.

You will be walking for about 150 meters and then turn left towards the reservoir. 

Follow the path over the birdge by the reservoir, then over the dam.
Pretty straight forward from that point on. Just follow the MacLehose signs.

This section is quite short. Just highlighting the intersections where you may  be unsure where to turn.

Done already? Yep. After the incredible beauty of the previous sections,this is a bit of a downer.

But let me get you back to civilization.  Follow Shing Mun Road road.

You'll reach an intersection where a path veers sharply and goes down. That's the path you want to take.

Just follow that road down until you reach the pumping station.

There will be a flight of stairs down to  Wo Yi Hop road where you will find a bus stop.