Hiking Tours in Hong Kong - the next big thing in tours?
According to the Government + Experts, yes they are!
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years - I know the place.
I have personally completed 2,300+ Private Tours and Experiences (over 6,000+ guests) since April 2011 and I am considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
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Hiking Tours in Hong Kong - the next big thing in tours?
According to the Government + Experts, yes they are!
The view from Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest Peak, taken by our son Jack
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“Arguably the best hike on Hong Kong Island, the Dragon's Back is a classic trail that combines many of the area's finest attributes. From mountain ridges and sheltered forrest trails to the white sands of Tai Long Wan (Big Wave Bay), it's no surprise the Dragon's Back was hailed by Time Magazine as Asia's best urban hike.
There is much more to Hong Kong than the city.
With over 70% of Hong Kong comprising mountainous forests, lakes and rugged coastlines. the territory possesses a bounty of natural wonders. Our aim is to share this beautiful back yard with you and show you many of Hong Kong's hidden gems. From remote hilltop vistas down to secluded waterfalls and golden beaches. Wild Hong Kong will take you on an adventure to remember!”
This is just some of the blurb from my friends at Wild Hong Kong who have been doing award winning hiking tours of Hong Kong since 2015 and you can tell it is not me writing the blurb as I hate the tired old cliche of “hidden gems” !
My tight knit group of friends in the business (Private Tours) always have the impression I do not know much about hiking in Hong Kong, they jump to this conclusion it seems on the basis that, that is because I do not talk much on the subject and I do not do hiking tours in any shape or form.
I actually know a fair bit, I think everyone forgets that I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years since I was 11 years old actually and in my younger fitter days i was an explorer and did a lot of hiking, now I am old and fat, spandex and hiking gear looks positively stupid on me!
I have also walked to my spot at Victoria Peak for the magnificent city view 6,000+ times, this trail is one of the most famous walking trails in Hong Kong (albeit on a paved road) it is as green as it gets! and is part of a jolly nice walk called the Peak Circular Walk which can take well over an hour to complete. Victoria Peak is the tallest peak on Hong Kong Island and has plenty of off shoot hiking trails, one of which is the hike up to Victoria Peak Garden (and it is a pretty strenuous and uphill walk)
So here are a few facts about Hong Kong and the potential for hiking…..
… and if you type into google “how many peaks in Hong Kong” there plenty of websites that will give you all the info with images of all of the Peaks in Hong Kong and note the following.
75% of Hong Kong’s total land area out of 1,114sq km or 430sq m is not built on, in other words built on areas is only 25% of the land area! and that does not change much, everything else is green and rocky!
Hong Kong has 263 islands, many of which are uninhabited but accessible by boat
Hong Kong has 579 named Peaks with Tai Mo Shan being the tallest at 957m or 3,139ft
There are 4 major trails (hikes) in Hong Kong with the Wilson Trail being 48 miles long!
So if you are a keen hiker and love the whole eco thing then Hong Kong has what you want in abundance.
I will now get into the whole eco tourism subject in Hong Kong which seems to be in the news daily these days.
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However the situation regarding eco tourism in Hong Kong (and by extension, the whole hiking thing) is getting very complicated because of the Hong Kong’s Governments quest to push eco tourism.
The first part of this is that a lot of Government Policy seems to be in reaction to the sheer volume of Mainland Chinese tourists coming to Hong Kong, which in 2024 was 34 million of them representing about 77% of all visitors.
Unfortunately post Covid, tourists from Mainland China do not seem to spend any money here, they do shorter trips and the big thing is taking selfies and posting on Chinese Social Media, this is an over simplification of the problem but it is having a dramatic and profound effect because they have discovered the Hong Kong Countryside and swarm there in the tens of thousands to remote places where you can take an interesting selfie.
This poses all sorts of issues including the lack of public transport to remote locations, lack of shops, restaurants and facilities and the small matter of them not observing rules and regulations when it comes to littering and naturally they overwhelm toilet facilities.
But that is not really the crux of the matter which is that they are disturbing the order of things in Hong Kong, a lot of Hong Kong residents love to go hiking every weekend and holiday, resplendent in designer spandex and every hiking accessory that you can think of and they are not happy at going to remote locations and secret spots only to find thousands of Mainland Chinese Tourists there taking selfies and there is also the small matter of retirees going out walking in the wilderness sometimes on a daily basis.
I get the impression that the Government gave no real thought to what Hong Kong residents think about this push for eco tourism (or going hiking as I call it), for Hong Konger’s the great wilderness is their sanctuary and escape from the stress of every day life and it should not be messed with, we have had a good balance for a long time and now that is in danger
In the past 2 weeks Hong Kong has been overwhelmed by visitors from Mainland China and their love of the countryside is causing a bit of panic and the Government is now talking about quotas to be enacted to restrict large numbers of people going out into the sticks, many of whom are completely ill equipped for walking in the hills and the countryside and it is putting a massive strain on public transport.
What I do not understand is how did the Government NOT know that issues would arise with mass tourism to remote area’s?
It is not unusual to see small crowds at popular remote sites in Hong Kong historically as Hong Kong people love the great outdoors but then out of nowhere in 2025 you might get 10,000 people on a popular hiking trail taking selfies!
I have been doing private tours of Hong Kong since 2010 with well over 6,000 guests and not once have I been asked to do a hiking tour or recommend hiking tours and yet it seems the Government is putting great emphasis on this survey reported above of 300 International Tourists of whom 41% of them said they basically loved the idea of eco tourism in Hong Kong - how is that relevant to Government policy? maybe if the survey was of 300,000 people but heaven help us shaping policy on the thoughts of 300 foreign tourists?
Surely what matters is the thoughts and ideas of the 7.54 million residents, don’t they have a say in the matter?
Have the Government taken into account how a foreign tourist would react going to an eco site (based on images seen online) to be met with thousands of other tourists taking selfies and oh, waiting for hours for public transport due to the long lines.
The fact of the matter is that the Government should not publicise eco tourism, if people want that experience then Google will give them all the information they need on how to have an experience without mass tourism spoiling the day, I know I always enjoyed hiking when I was a lot younger because there was NO crowds and every Hong Kong resident has their own favourite place to visit! and I can tell you, they hate the idea of crowds, they love remote places because they will rarely see other people, that is key..
Our countryside is now overwhelmed with visitors from Mainland China (and personally I have no particular issue with that and it is an interesting topic to discuss with my guests) and I rather suspect that these 300 people mentioned in the article are not up to date with current events in Hong Kong and the whole thing of getting away from the city is becoming irrelevant here, no one wants to see 10,000 tourists on a popular hiking trail.
There is another question the Government must consider - how long will a sites popularity last for on Chinese Social Media?
We all know that on Social Media you are only as good as your last image, content drives everything and a site in Hong Kong maybe popular one day and forgotten the next, that makes planning very difficult.
There is no guarantee that just because it is on Chinese Social Media that the sites popularity will make the jump to other countries, this is not Disneyland or the Peak Tram, this is a small hill with a view far from town.
If Eco Tourism is such a big thing then why are there only a handful of companies offering hiking tours?
Personally I would not trust a survey of 300 people as far as I can spit, even 3,000 people is too small a sample to consider, 300,000 would be perfect
the fact of the matter is that I think a lot of people also fail to realise that weather plays an important role when it comes to eco tourism, in some places around the world they are blessed with lovely weather all the year round, in Singapore which we are often compared with, they have a tropical climate pretty much all year round and also a lot of rain, we have 4 distinct seasons, weather is a fact in tourism, like it or not.
From May 8th 2025
Basically this eco friendly place was overwhelmed because of images appearing on Chinese Social Media and the Government was totally unprepared for the chaos, the image below was taken on April 4th 2025, the situation exploded into total mayhem at the same spot in early May 2025
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The image below at the same eco site in early May 2025, this is not what Hong Kong residents want to see when they go hiking out in the boonies.
© SCMP | Sai Kung Hong Kong | All Rights Reserved
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Hong Kong has 4 seasons which is just lovely but for 6 months of the year we have temperatures hovering around 33oC with 95% humidity and rain, yes, lots of rain. Not to put too fine a point on it, but heat, humidity and rain make for a miserable and dangerous hiking tour. I should also point out that Hong Kong has significant variations in temperature, in many green areas in Hong Kong it easily get up to 35oC or 36oC with 95% humidity
We already have hundreds of reported incidents every year of “hikers” getting lost or suffering a medical emergency and this is a problem if you are far from civilisation, in 2024 alone we had 19 hikers die and that is a tragic fact.
At least when I am at Victoria Peak, there is shade and 2 shopping malls fully air conditioned to make the experience bearable and enjoyable.
I think the Government needs to rethink strategy here promoting eco tourism is all well and good but you have to factor in the effect on Hong Kong residents and you have to have proper facilities in place, rest stops, food and drink kiosks, clean bathrooms and thousands of litter bins for the trash that people generate.
As an example of lack of planning, the best place to get a world class city view of Hong Kong is a place commonly known as the Lugard Road Lookout, it is literally a 20 minute walk on a road (basically with almost NO traffic) and it is very green and then it is a 20 minute walk back and yet on this 20 minute walk there is ONE CONCRETE BENCH for 2 people and that is it, that is the only seating, there are no shelters from the rain either and no toilet facilities, yet it is one of the most popular places in Hong Kong for residents and tourists alike, remarkably there is a toilet for dogs!
I have written to the District Council who handle such matters and never got a response.
Being out in the wilderness also means making sure emergency services can be deployed rapidly and ensuring in this digital age that fast wi fi is available and lastly making sure that everyone needs to be fully prepared with the right gear when it comes to going out into the wilderness, shorts, t shirts and flip flops are not recommended!
No disrespect to Travel Bloggers but I would not put much faith in what they have to say, most of them have visited Hong Kong once, I have lived here for 53 years.
Below are some typical comments from someone who is writing about hiking tours in Hong Kong
“The weather in Hong Kong
What is the best time to travel? Is it very hot during the summer? When is the rainy season in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong’s climate is subtropical and the temperature can be considered pleasant throughout the year. Most of the day the city is totally cloudy and it is usual that there are relatively thick fogs.
Two clearly differentiated seasons
In Hong Kong, as in most Southeast Asian cities, two distinct seasons are clearly distinguished: the wet and the dry.
The dry season lasts from November to March and during these months the average level of precipitation is about 35mm. The rest of the months the averages become ten times higher. During the wet season there is also the risk of typhoons.
Best time to visit Hong Kong
For us the best time to visit Hong Kong is during its dry season. Besides not having to suffer such abundant rains, the temperature is much more temperate. In the summer months are easily exceeded 30 ° C, something that together with the high level of humidity produces a feeling of overwhelm.”
I would disagree with these comments, I doubt people think that 33oC to 36oC with 95% humidity for 6 months of the year is pleasant and totally foggy days are very rare and mostly in the winter and most days it is a mixture of cloudy and sunny and it is very rare that is rains all day and yes I have experienced days when we have had 12 inches of rain! bur generally I have always enjoyed our climate in Hong Kong and absolutely November to April is very pleasant in terms of temperature and we have 4 very distinct seasons not 2…. however the best city views are on a glorious hot sunny day in the summer!
On other point that I would like to raise and no one except me seems to mention is, is TIME, yes TIME and for tourists in particular time is a precious commodity.
All to often I have seen comments about how long it takes to get out in the wilderness which are flippant comments and bear no connection to reality, Hong Kong has the best public transport of any city in the world in my opinion but the further away from the city you go, the frequency of transport declines and you can easily wait an hour if you just miss the bus so to speak and often it is not a direct route, you can end up taking the subway a bus and then a taxi on the same journey and getting there is not cheap.
On Hong Kong Island getting to the Dragon Back hiking trail from town can easily take an hour there and an hour back depending on mode of transport, Kowloon is flat and devoid of hiking trails for the most part but the New Territories which is the biggest part of Hong Kong and the greenest, well transport from town can easily take 1 - 2 hours there and 1 - 2 hours back
For example on my Lantau Island Private Tour 4 hours out of 8 is travelling there and back but at least you have me talking about Hong Kong for the travelling time which is much more interesting than staring out of the window on public transport.
If you are in Hong Kong for a couple of days only, then time is a precious commodity and you have to be realistic about time… I live out in the sticks an no matter what options I choose (and I have plenty of options) it still takes 60 - 80 minutes to get into town
… and yes you can book a car tour (which can get very expensive) but that still takes time, think about it, Hong Kong is 1,114sq km or 430sq m which is pretty big area and most of the eco tourism sites and hiking trails are far from town and yes, if you are a Private Tour Guide you have to be an expert on time and getting around Hong Kong in the most efficient way possible.
A simple Google search for “hiking tours Hong Kong” surprisingly does not show up a lot of results
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So above is a screen shot of a typical Google search for hiking tours in Hong Kong, to me this is a much more revealing overview of the state of eco tourism in Hong Kong in 2025.
In other words there is NOT much demand at all for hiking tours at this point in time and frankly Mainland Chinese tourists will not book a tour with a foreign company and the people I know would not be able to handle non English speaking visitors (and a group of 50 people!)
It is debatable as to whether interest in hiking tours will increase taking into account our seasonal weather and not quite up to speed frequency of public transport to remote locations in Hong Kong. I often wonder if a guest staying for 2 days only is willing to give up a whole day to go hiking in the wilderness, some place are quite majestic, I will grant you that but I also think that a lot of places feel quite similar and on a hiking trail, rocks, trees and bushes do not vary much however every now and then you will come across an awesome view!
I took all the images below except the first one which was taken by our youngest son Jack who quite likes hiking in Hong Kong
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A stunning view from Hong Kong’s tallest Peak, Tai Mo Shan but it takes a long time to get there and yes, there are many trails in the hills and peaks in the background
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I hate using the term “secret spot” but this is my secret spot, this is taken from a very hard to find place on Victoria Peak (yes, I am stood on a road) and shows the south side of Hong Kong Island and the major built up area on the right is Aberdeen, plenty of places to get in touch with nature and it is hard to find but walkable, this is the image the Peak Tower owners wished they had from the Peak Tower 428 Sky Terrace but don’t!
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The greatest panoramic city view in the world from the Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak, the view also pans left and the hills and peaks to the left and right essentially separate Kowloon from the New Territories, there is one hiking trail which covers the 8 peaks! Whilst these peaks are not classed as mountains you have to be darn fit to walk them,
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This peak or hill is called High West and is just behind Victoria Peak, people love the hike to a height of 494m and it has some nice views, this image is taken from the Victoria Peak Garden, naturally I hate this hill, it is so darned steep and quite unpleasant but do not mind me, it is a popular hike with some great views.
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Another image taken from Victoria Peak Garden looking down on Pok Fu Lam and there is a famous hiking trail from opposite the Peak Galleria Mall that goes down there and past the reservoir, trust me, going down is much easier on the legs than coming up! In the background is Lamma Island, home to the Hong Kong Electric Power Plant (with the large smoke stacks) and a whole bunch of hiking trails that cover most of the island, very popular on weekends with residents.
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i took this image in April 2025 outside the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple - So the hill in the background is called Lion Rock and a Hong Kong Icon and arguably Hong Kong’s most popular hiking trail, I have done it twice and never again, I hate it with a passion as it takes ages to get to the top, it is quite dangerous and very steep and if you are not fit, you will start inventing curses within minutes of starting your trek up there and I am often incredulous when people make out it is like walking to the local supermarket, it is NOT, then again I do not venture outside in spandex, carry walking poles and have a designer water bottle.
It is a Hong Kong Icon and I only wish they had gone through with the plan to build a cable car to the summit basically from close to where I stood to take the image., that would have been a game changer.
Ps do not say I did not warn you about the time needed to get there and how steep it is.
… oh yes, from this angle it does look like a sitting lion!
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This is the view from Kowloon Peak looking across Kowloon with Hong Kong Island in the background, you can walk it but it takes ages and most people go up there by car. The aptly named Suicide Cliff is nearby and as the name suggests many people have died there in accidents mainly because they climb rocks in flip flops, shorts and t shirts and try and take selfies whilst clinging to rocks, Suicide Cliff is a social media icon and personally I will not go near the place.
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… and this blog post would not be complete without an image of some typical hikers in Hong Kong, this was taken in Tung Chung near Hong Kong International Airport, they are a group of mainly retirees going on a mid week hike and they go well prepared as well because they are experienced hikers….. what they are looking for is a nice steady walk, a place to admire scenery and a drink and snack stop in a remote village. What they do not want is 10,000 tourists clogging up their trail.
The Government must take into account the views of residents when it comes to Eco Tourism.
Did I mention the hidden dangers of Hiking in Hong Kong? See Below
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Last but not least, how can a blog post about hiking in Hong Kong not mention things you might bump into which you would rather not, I am constantly amazed at how many people do not realise there are things out there which want to bite you!
Rhesus Macaque Monkeys in the New Territories, we have about 2,000 of them and they are very aggressive nasty little buggers and will attack you at the drop of a hat, we had a chap die recently from a monkey bite which had contained a fatal and very rare virus.. I took this image from the safety of a car at Monkey Hill, do not think for one second that they are cute
I am a big fan of snakes however, I have visited and held them in snake shops in Hong Kong but meeting them in the wild is dangerous, this is the Bamboo Pit Viper Snake one of 9 venomous snakes with fatal bites in Hong Kong, another 5 are venomous but their bites are not fatal. All of our hospitals have anti venom for all of them and will send a helicopter for you if you get bitten in the wild - we average over 100 bites a year which means when hiking you have to be careful
The giant Golden Orb spider, I love them and some of them I have photographed at Victoria Peak were the size of my hand, they can give you a bit of a nip but you are more likely to die of fright when you walk into one of their giant webs, they are huge and move fast and I have taken hundreds of images of them.
The giant centipede which is red and quite common at Victoria Peak and on hiking trails and the stuff of nightmares, they are large and aggressive and I give them a wide berth, if stung so to speak you need to get to a hospital apparently it is very painful but not fatal
Wild Boars at Victoria Peak are quite common and they have been seen in urban areas and shopping malls many times and when cornered get very aggressive, not to be trifled with.
Cows with horns, again quite common in the wild and I do not trust any animal that is bigger than me with horns!
For those of you that are interested in hiking tours, then please do NOT ask me, I do not do them and never will
Please contact my great friends by clicking on the links below, they are the best in Hong Kong for hiking tours and such.
Hong Kong A La Carte please contact Alexandra or Stephanie
Wild Hong Kong please contact Rory
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