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| Little Hawaii Falls in Tseung Kwan O is an easy walk from the Polam MTR station |
In these times of heightened alert against the coronavirus
contagion, when most of Hong Kong people’s
favorite outdoor leisure venues are closed, looking for a place to go to unwind
is a bit problematic.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department closed all
venues and facilities temporarily starting today, Jun 15, in keeping with the
additional social distancing measures adopted by government to contain the third
wave of Covid-19 infections.
Facilities that most OFWs go to in summer for picnics and
socializing, such as beaches and country park barbecue sites, are among those
fenced off to the public.
Sports grounds are also closed, preventing the sport-lovers
among the workers from warming up and practicing on the ballpark pitches on
their day off.
Fortunately for the less heat-averse, about half of Hong Kong ’s territory remains wide open to adventurers,
hikers and nature lovers. This is a boon to Filipino domestic workers who love
to roam the great outdoors after being cooped up in the employers’ flats for a
week.
For a tiny place like Hong Kong ,
it is amazing to find out that it has nearly 300 kilometers of hiking trails
with picturesque views of the city’s business districts and population centers,
as well as its coastlines and peaks.
A hiker who starts off on Hong Kong island can go up a
flight of concrete stairs, or take the giant escalator in Central to hit either
Wilson Trail
Hong Kong Trail is a 50km concrete and dirt path carved out
on slopes of The Peak and winds up and down several mountains on south side of the
island before it ends in Big
Wave Bay
The trail at several points crisscrosses Wilson Trail ,
a 78km path that starts at Stanley in
southeastern Hong Kong Island and ends at Nam Chung in the New Territories
The 78km Lantau Trail snakes up and down slopes on Lantau Island ,
taking hikers along Hong Kong ’s most dangerous
mountain paths as it treats them to breath-taking views of the city’s rural and
coastal areas.
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| Castle Peak in Tuen Mun is at the end of the challenging MacLehose Trail, but can be accessed at various points along the way |
The most challenging of the paths, however, is the 100km
MacLehose Trail, which starts in Pak Tam Chung in Saikung and ends at the foot
of Castle Peak in Tuen Mun.
Tseung Kwan O, a new town built on reclaimed land on Junk Bay in Eastern Saikung , has two waterfalls that are just a short
walk away from the population centers.
Little Hawaii
Falls Lohas
Park Falls ,
according to OFW hikers who had been there recently, is just a few hundred
meters behind the Lohas
Park
Hong Kong’s more popular waterfall hikes are the Ng Tung
Chai on the slopes of Tai Mo Shan in Taipo, Bride’s Pool, Tai Yuen Stream,
Silvermine Waterfalls in Mui Wo, Tai Tam Mound in eastern Hong Kong Island, Pin
Nam Stream in Fanling, Lotus Waterfall in Tai Lam and Sheung Luk Stream or Rock
Pool in Saikung.
For all their awesome natural beauty, all these scenic
trails and spots are just a walk or a bus ride away from where one lives and
are an inexpensively healthful way of shaking off the boredom arising from
stricter health protocols.
Just look out for “no entry,” “no swimming,” “no smoking,”
and other warning signs in parts of the areas you visit and observe social
distancing and other health protocols against Covid-19.
