Pak Kung Au to Mui wo via Lantau trail (Sunset Peak - Tai Tung Shan - 大東山)

(Updated 2020/02/08)
Duration: 

4 hours (10 km)

Difficulty: 7/10

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere

Water needs: 2 liters

Toilets: At the beginning on the trail, and 2km before the end.

Appreciation: 10/10. If you go in November, you'll be in prime silver grass season, which is quite nice. Views are also superb.

Transportation: Bus 3M,11,11A,23 from Tung Chung MTR. Get there early because it gets very busy. Or, get 3M from Mui Wo which won't be crowded. Return via ferry in Mui Wo.

Details: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/1875820196

Why it's worth it:

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Tung Chung MTR, exit B. Go to the left of the mall. The bus terminus are on the right after the mall.

Very crowded on weekends. 3M is usually less crowded. Let the driver know you are going to Pak Kung Au before paying; it is a sectional fare.

Get off at Pak Kung Au. Walk in the direction the bus was going for about 50m. Take the first path going up on your left (then left).

Go towards Sunset Peak. Rest is just a matter of following the trail. No way to get lost; it is Lantau trail all the way to Mui Wo. You can make a little detour up to the top of Sunset Peak if it is not overcast.

Discovery Bay (愉景灣) to Mui Wo via Tiger's Head (Lo Fu Tau/老虎頭)

Duration: 

4.5 hours (10 km)

Difficulty: 7/10

Cel phone coverage: Everywhere

Water needs: 2 liters

Appreciation: 10/10. Much better than the Tung Chung to DB as every bit of this trail is scenic.

Transportation: Ferry from Central, back and forth

Details: http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/1864097165

Why it's worth it:

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Right off the ferry in Discovery, head right towards the beach

Right, still towards the beach

First left when you are at the beach. Go through the housing complex...

... until you reach Discovery Bay road, take a right

Walk on Discovery Bay road...

... until you see the SKH Wei Lun Primary School on your right. Cross the road and there's a green sign pointing to the path going up

The climb begins!

You'll go back down a bit after the height marker. Then head right.

Right

The head is in sight... but there are still a lot of climbing. Once you have reached the Tiger Head however, it is pretty much all the way downhill to Mui Wo afterwards. Just one path so, no need for more instructions...

Always go towards Mui Wo... Take the ferry to Central after having had some nice food at one of the local restaurants.

Tung Fuk Beach to Mui Wo via beaches

Duration: 

(2 to 5 kilometers depending if you go to Pui O). 30 minutes to 1 hour to  Sha Tsui. Another 45 minutes if you walk to Pui O (10 min bus ride). Calculate food time.

Difficulty: 1/10 if not doing the Pui O section, 3/10 otherwise. 

Appreciation: 8/10.  Very nice beaches. Great food.

Transportation:  Get to Tung Chung MTR. Take NLB #11 to Tung Fuk beach village. Return from Mui Wo via ferry or to Tung Chung via bus. Ferries and buses run to about 23:00 every day.

Why it's worth it: Nice food, very nice beaches. Not overly crowded. Finish the day with a nice dinner in Mui Wo; lots of nice places to eat there.

Tung Fuk, Cheung Sha, Pui O beaches. Lunch at The Gallery

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At Tung Chung, take Exit 'B' and walk towards the Ngong Ping 360 escalator, the #11 bus stop is next to it. Note that it gets very busy on weekends and holidays as the crowd goes to Tai O.

Map. Click to enlarge.

There will be no announcements for the Tung Fuk village stop . But you should have no problem recognizing it; it's about 25 minutes into the ride, you will have driven down the mountain, to the beach-fronts, then turned right on to South Lantau Road. Then, it is pretty much the first village right by the road.

If you arrange to get there around lunch time, start with a visit at The Gallery Restaurant and Bar, just in front of the bus stop @ 26 South Lantau Road. Great food, perfect for a day out.

When ready to go. Follow the signs to Tung Fuk beach, behind the bus stop.

Then it is pretty simple, just follow the Tung Fuk beach. At the end of the beach, if you are adventurous, keep going over the rocks to Cheung Sha beach, if not, just zip on the road to skip the rocks.
Then, do all of Sheung Sha beach to Sha Tsui (there's a path that skips another rocky part (at the red Cheung Sha sign on the map).  

Then, once you hit the South Lantau road again (#2 on the first map), you can either take the #11 bus back to Tung Chung (might be really busy), take the #1/#2/#4 bus to Pui O, or all the way to Mui Wo if you want to skip Pui O altogether (the beach is not as nice). Or you can walk to Pui O (about 45 minutes).

If you decide to walk to Pui O, it is not a hard walk but there's a little bit of a climb towards the end. You will see some signage about 3/4 of the way there on South Lantau Road. You will know when you arrived because that's the next village. At the first bus stop in the village, there's will be signs pointing to Pui O beach, on your right.
When you are done "beaching", take bus #1/#2/#4 to Mui Wo at that same spot. Actually, if it is more convenient, you can also take bus 3M to Tung Chung on the opposite side of the road.

Discovery Bay to Mui Wo

(Updated 2019-APR-15)

Duration: 

2 hours

Difficulty: 

7/10. There's a 20 minutes/120 meters climb that's a bit painful when it is very hot (I did it a 33c/90% humidity)

Cel phone coverage: Partial.

Water needs: 1.5 liter.

Appreciation: 9/10. Great views. Monastery is interesting.

Map & Details: n/a

Exercise Area: No

Transportation: Take the ferry to Discovery Bay and the ferry back from Mui Wo.

Why it's worth it: 

Great views, nice beach, shopping and restaurants on both ends.Turkish food at Bahce.

Take the Discovery Bay ferry from the Central pier. You'll be there in about 30-40 minutes.

Right off the ferry, hang out left along the pier.

We'll keep going along the pier for about 100 meters.

Turn right to get to the main road.

At the main road, turn left.

Follow the main road.

As the road dips and merges, cross it and walk towards the bay side road. But be watchful that you do not take the bay side road. Right as you get to the road, there's a gatekeeper's cabin.

You want to head out right behind the cabin and through the fence. You will see a small beach there.

Follow the path by the beach.

You'll see a sign post. Go towards Mui Wo via the Trappist monastery.

Gets a little bit tricky as you get to the little village. Follow the visual cues here (and the arrows)

Hang out left.

Left again.

At this point, it's pretty much just following the path.

Banana plantations.

Go through that house's veranda. Yes, it's not a private path; it's just that the owner build over public space so, don't feel too bad about going through what looks like his home.

Another little village.

You'll eventually get to a larger road. Turn right into it. That's where the ascending part of the hike starts.

You arrive at the monastery, which can be recognized by the blue bridge leading to it. If you feel like it, it's a nice little break. Have a little visit but stay quiet. Once you are done. keep going on the road, going up.

At the crossroads, stay in the middle and you'll see the foot path going on...

... with a sign post announcing that you are indeed on the right way.

Now, at the point when you are in sight of the Chinese gazebo, you can climb up for the view (very nice) or take a right through an "uncharted" path through the bushes which bypasses the climb. But, if you went that far, why no enjoy the view? Once you soaked in the view, it's a long and scenic way down. After another 20 or so minutes, you'll see Mui Wo in the distance with the ferry pier marking the end-point of your trek. You're still about 45 minutes away.

Turn right at the bottom of the stairs. From that point on, there should be no problem finding your way to the ferry pier. Make a stop at Bahce for great Turkish food before you ferry back to Central. After a nice hike in the sun, I suggest a nice jug of sangria.