First View Point on the Dragon’s Back Trail.
The dragon’s back hike is a must-do hike if you are spending any amount of time in the Hong Kong area. It boasts fantastic views from different angles of the Bay Area and is not a time consuming hike allowing for time to do other activities on the same day of this hike.
Start of the Trail.
Map of Hong Kong Trail and Dragon’s Back Trail.
Plan to stop a lot, the views are incredible!
Happy Hikers!
Elise and I opted to do the entire hike as hiking is something that we both enjoy and and it was a beautiful sunny day in Hong Kong. The hike started with and included multiple sets of stone stairs and lots of ups and downs. We did not find this to be especially challenging, but we consider ourselves physically fit people.
Stairs!
More Stairs!
Here Comes Jess!
Beautiful Bay!
Trail Terrain.
Level Trail.
Follow Signs to Stay on Dragon’s Back Trail.
We Couldn’t Get Enough of the Views!
Trail at the Top.
More Stairs Down!
Love Picture Stops as an Excuse to Catch Our Breath.
Elise Leading the Way!
Love the Blue and Green!
Sneak Peek View Through the Trees!
The view from Shek O Peak is amazing! You can see the bays and surrounding islands and off in the distance you can see the staircase leading down to Big Wave Bay. There’s a bench at the top to take in the very windy views and give your legs a moment to relax before you start down what will become a long trail of staircases down.
Follow the Trail to the Peak!
Don’t Forget to Turn Around and Enjoy the Past Views as Well!
We Made It! Shek O Peak!
Beautiful Panos!
Rest at the Top!
In Order to reach Big Wave Bay you need to descend way more stairs that you go up all day long. This staircase down is in direct sunlight so be prepared with lots of sunscreen, and a hat. We reached big wave bay around 2:30 PM. Here, we walked over and put our feet into the ocean before heading to the end point of our hike.
The Path Really Does Move Like a Dragon’s Back!
Path is Clearly Marked, Just Follow the Signs.
Follow the Path Towards the Staircases Down!
Head Down the Stairs for What Feels Like Forever!
Just Keep Going!
Almost There!
We Did It!
Just a Little Cool Down!
How to get there and back: since we were staying in the Kowloon area during the time of the Hong Kong protests, we chose to take a Taxi to the trailhead in Shek O park. This cost us approx. 230 HKD. If you type Dragon’s Back Trail into Google Maps it takes you directly to the trailhead. We used this to help guide our taxi driver to our drop off point. To get back to Kowloon, we picked up a mini bus just past big wave bay and rode this for 10 HKD each to an MTR station just outside of Shek O. We then took an Uber 220 HKD back to Kowloon as we were refused a ride by multiple taxis. (We later found out that taxis don’t like to cross into different islands and although they can’t legally refuse you a ride, you may want to consider this when choosing your transportation options to Hong Kong island.)
We Lucked Out With Beautiful Weather.
Know before you go:
-
-
-
- Pack a daypack and include all essential items. Our day packs included, 1.5 liters of water, a rain jacket, snacks, electrolyte tablets, hand sanitizer, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray, money (snack bars at Big Wave Bay)
- Many blogs mentioned bringing swimsuits to go into the water at the end of the hike. Be aware that the water here can be contaminated. On the particular day that we were there there was a high contamination level. We opted to step into the ocean, but did not swim in it.
- There are restrooms at the beginning of the hike, one before you head down to Big Wave Bay and several when you reach Big Wave Bay.
- Be Sure to Bring Cash for the Minibus back to town.
-
-
We Loved the Contrast of City and Nature!
Hike details:
- 8 km
- Peak 284 Meters
- 3.5 Hours with Stops
- Restrooms in Parking Lot
- Clearly Marked Trails
We Love Hiking! See Some of Our Other Favorites Below:
Cook Islands Cross Island Trek
Lake Louise Tea House Challenge
More Hong Kong
Lantau Island – Tian Tan (Big Buddha)
