Hong Kong’s long-distance trails offer 300km of history, views and scenery – and winter is the perfect time to trek them
- The MacLehose, Wilson, Lantau and Hong Kong trails are easy to reach and are well signposted and maintained
- They avoid urban areas, take in country parks, abandoned villages and mountains, and offer views of Hong Kong in all its glory
Four long distance trails, stretching nearly 300 kilometres (185 miles) in total, thread their way the length and breadth of Hong Kong. Given the clement winter weather, there’s probably never been a better time to don boots, rucksack and AirPods, head into the wide green yonder and shrink that bucket list.
The lengthiest trail takes its name from the late British colonial governor Sir Murray MacLehose, a keen walker who set up the city’s networks of country parks in the 1970s. Covering some 44,000 hectares, the parks provide a verdant backdrop for the trails, although the metropolis occasionally intrudes.
“The great thing about these long distance trails is that wherever you are in the city, it does not take long to reach them – you can just go,” says Simon Wan Chi-chung, a photographer and tutor at Hong Kong University’s Department of Fine Arts who is an adviser to TrailWatch, a mobile app that allows hikers to track their routes.
“TrailWatch adds a new dimension to getting out on the long distance trails – it’s not just a record of where you’ve been, as it also allows users to report incidents and monitor what’s going on in the country parks as well,” Wan says.
All the trails are well signposted and maintained, and divided into sections, so if time – or energy – is in short supply, they can be tackled bit by bit.