HONG KONG


Splendid isolation Sai Kung


Hong Kong isn’t all about high-rises – Sai Kung offers scenic hikes, superb seafood and epic vistas. Jane Knight explores on a day trip from The Peninsula hotel


I


f the climb up this path undulating wildly over green-carpeted hills hadn’t left me breathless, the view spread before me certainly would have done. My chest heaving, I gaze through a gap in the trees and take in the vista of hills tumbling into the water, forming an irregular but scenic edge to High Island Reservoir. It’s the very image of bucolic bliss. So it’s hard Ìo LiliiÛi Ìh>Ì Ìhià ëoÌ] ÜhiÀi LÕÌÌiÀyiià `>nVi >ÀoÕn` mi >n` LillyoÜiÀà >`` ël>Ãhià ov VoloÕÀ] ià in Hong Kong, just over an hour from the centre, on the Sai Kung Peninsula. It couldn’t feel farther from the city with the most skyscrapers in the world.


Green spaces It turns out that Hong Kong is more than just high-rises – there’s a surprising amount of green space, with only 25% of its land developed and much of the rest protected by a series of natural parks. Several of these are in Sai Kung, also known as the back garden of Hong Kong, with its volcanic slopes criss-crossed by hiking trails, beaches that wouldn’t look out of place


in Thailand or Indonesia, and geological formations that leave the Giant’s Causeway looking like a poor cousin. Despite its proximity to the urban jungle, it’s not the easiest place to reach and explore under your own steam, which is why I’m here with guide San Cheung, on a tailor-made tour arranged through high-end hotel The Peninsula. We’re hiking a slice of the 62-mile MacLehose trail, starting at Sai Wan Pavilion and heading to the village of Sai Wan, then following the coast along a series of perfect beaches. Although the temperatures are in the mid-20s in February, the only reclining bodies we see sunning themselves on Sai Wan beach are those of a small herd of wild cows. Crossing the headland to the glorious sweep of sand backed by a rickety bridge at Ham Tin Wan, we pass an ellipse of wooden benches that are angled so you can look up at the heavens – it’s a popular area for stargazing and wild camping. If Ham Tin Wan is beautiful, it’s overshadowed by Tai Long Wan (Big Wave Bay) and little sister Tung Wan. It has taken us a


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CREDITS: Shutterstock/Adelaide Cheng, Zen S Prarom, Terry Sze; Unsplash/Randy Yip, Tim Cheung


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