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Danny Mok

The city’s first and longest hiking trail, the MacLehose Trail, has been named one of the best hikes in the world by the National Geographic Society.
The society said it had asked 20 “outdoor luminaries” including trail runners, CEOs and popular authors for the trails they dreamed about.
The 100km MacLehose Trail was picked by veteran hiker and writer M. John Fayhee.
Hong Kong runners and hikers hit out at the growing concreting of trails
The trail was opened on October 26, 1979 and named after the longest-serving colonial governor Murray MacLehose, who established the city’s country parks and was an enthusiastic hiker.
The trail’s 10 sections cross much of the New Territories, starting from Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung in the east to Tuen Mun in the west, along a trail marked by distance posts at 500-metre intervals.


Fayhee, the author of a dozen of books on mountaineering, said: “I hiked this trail in 1987 over the course of a week, and it kicked my ass.”
The experienced hiker, who has completed the 3,380km Appalachian Trail and the 1,368km Arizona Trail in the United States, said he had heard about the MacLehose Trail as a youngster from his Uncle Jack, a retired sergeant major in the British Army, as it had apparently been used for fitness competitions between the various national components of the army.
Hikers have long been escaping Hong Kong’s crowds and stress
“While Hong Kong may be one of the most densely populated places on the planet, the surrounding New Territories are rural and quiet – and they are tough country to hike,” Fayhee said.
“The MacLehose Trail makes constant, grueling 1,000-plus-foot descents followed immediately by ascents along the fingers of ridgetops, making it more challenging than its mileage suggests,” he added.
Watch: Drone view of MacLehose Trail section two


He described the trail as starting at the stunning eastern beaches before climbing up into tropical mountains, where monkeys chattered from the branches.
“It usually takes five to six days to complete the trail, which has been made a bit easier since the days of the Gurkhas with stone steps and paths and first-come-first-serve free campgrounds.”
He added: “When you are done, take a cab back to a hotel in the metropolis.”
According to Fayhee, the best time of year to hit the MacLehose Trail is November to March “since summer is very humid”.

OTHER DREAM TRAILS


Tour du Mont Blanc, France, Italy and Switzerland
Sierra High Route, California, US
Laugavegurinn/Fimmvörðuháls Pass, Iceland
Te Araroa Trail, New Zealand
Sir Samuel and Lady Florence Baker Historical Trail, South Sudan to Uganda
Franconia Ridge Loop/Traverse, New Hampshire, US
Pacific Crest Trail, California, Oregon, and Washington, US
Caribou Tracks, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, US
Dosewallips to Lake Quinault, Olympic National Park, Washington, US
Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal
Winter Tour, Bozeman, Montana, to Jackson, Wyoming, US
Urique-Batopilas Trail, Copper Canyon, Mexico
Snowman Trek, Bhutan
Kings Peak, Utah, US
Solomon Gulch Trail, Valdez, Alaska, US
Overland Track in Tasmania, Australia
Oregon Desert Trail, US
Long Range Traverse, Newfoundland, Canada
Ancascocha Trail, Peru


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Hong Kong’s MacLehose Trail named one of the best hikes in the world

The 100km trail was picked by hiker and writer M. John Fayhee. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Education

National Geographic Society compiled picks from ‘outdoor luminaries’, including trail runners, CEOs and popular authors
