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Get Out: Yau Tong to Ma Yau Tong Village
6-7km, 4 hours, moderate
This hike starts at the connection point from the island to the mainland for the eccentric Wilson Trail –probably the only hiking trail in the world that crosses a harbour. With Devil’s Peak, a ruined battery, a cemetery, caves and scorched hills, this trail makes for a good night hike for the brave.
The trails up the 222m Devil’s Peak all meet up eventually, so choose your own adventure. We suggest missing the peak on first pass and skirting around the east side of the hill to where the cemetery is in full view. Find a junction with the Wilson Trail and a small path heading up; take it left and ascend the hill passing bare rock and the mouth of a large cave. Any hill named Devil’s Peak with a natural grotto and crowned with a derelict fort looming above a cemetery needs to be explored. The summit is a great spot for a picnic or just to take in the 360-degree views of Hong Kong varying from sea to mountain to urban sprawl to lush countryside.
Once you’ve had enough of the devil and his peak, descend into the fragrance of incense from the nearby cemetery. Follow the trail over the stocky hills, some of which have suffered from recent fires and are still permeated with scents of burnt brush. The trail passes small gardens and the hills are speckled with makeshift shacks formed from the deceased vending machines, some inadvertently advertising sodas to disillusioned hikers on nearby peaks.
On descending into Ma Yau Tong Village, you’ll discover the source of building materials for the shanties above, a veritable graveyard of vending machines and scrap metal. Follow the road out and either choose to continue on and finish the rest of the trail at Clearwater Bay Road, or take the bus back to town at Tsuen Kwan O Road.
Getting there: Take the MTR to Yau Tong, Exit A1. Follow Lei Yue Mun Road on and take a left on Ko Chiu Road to the access road for the Chinese Permanent Cemetery.
Andrew James
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