Sai Kung Hike: Tai Tun Shan & Lui Ta Shek Shan 西貢：太墩山 & 雷打石山
- Melody Siew
- Jan 10, 2021
- 3 min read
Yesterday was such a gorgeous day for hiking! Cold with a bit of sunshine between 8 to 13 degree Celsius. John and I went to Sai Kung to spend the day there.
We went to enjoy our big brunch at Singaling's (thanks to Laibond and Helena who took us there for my birthday last year!). They have amazing vegan and vegetarian options menu, and their vegan burgers are to die for! The patties are all home made from scratch, and not the impossible or beyond meat patties. On top of the delicious food, the customer service was top notch. We highly recommend anyone to go there and give it a try!
After our delicious and satisfying meal, we took a bus to Pak Tam Chung. Bus 94, 96R and minibus 7 & 9 all go there. It is about 15 to 20 minutes bus ride.
Upon arrival at Pak Tam Chung, there are 2 options to start the hike to Tai Tun Shan.
Option 1: Off Trail secret passage: walk to the far end of the parking lot on the left, pass the BBQ Site No. 1, and the ribbon trail is visible. This is the fastest option, and less easy to get lost. See below picture of the entrance.
Option 2: Proper trail: Take the family walk trail at the Sai Kung West Country Park through the BBQ site. This is a gentler but longer route as the beginning is family walk. It is easier to get lost as it is not a well marked to Tai Tun Shan. More details with the URL links at the bottom.
Regardless of either option, good grip hiking footwear is needed. Both options involve long steep trails to hike up and down. Gloves and hiking poles are optional (we didn't use either of them, but we came across many hikers did). This hike is quite exposed, i.e. not much of shades at some areas. A hat and sunscreen are highly recommended. With this cold temperature, the hat definitely helped to provide warmth.
We opted to do the off trail hike. This option involves steep hike and scrambling right from the start. Depending on the fitness level, this part could take between 30 minutes to 1 hour to reach the summit of Tai Tun Shan. In 30 minutes, we reached the summit with the pillar indicating it. The view was spectacular there, and endless of islands were visible, including Sharp Island, Yim Tin Tsai and etc. From the eastward to the left, Sharp Peak was just behind the High Island Reservoir.
Once we finished admiring the view, we headed northwest and continued our hike through the grassy trail to Lui Ta Shek Shan direction. Lui Tak Shek literally translates to Thunder Struck Rock. It is a rock jutted out up at the hill. This hill is at the north side of Tai Tun Shan. If in doubt, check google map, and type in 雷打石山 (English is not available in Google Map). It will show you how to get there from Tai Tun Shan.
The trail starts out gentle, then there is a steep sharp descent for about 30 minutes. This steep trail was dry and loose. I took my time to go down slowly, and about 30 minutes, the sharp descent trail connects to the main trail between two sign posts. Turn right and continue with the trail until another big junction with two sign posts. The left sign post shows Tai Mong Tsai Road, and the right sign post shows Pak Tam Chung. However, there is a unmarked ribbon trail in between the two sign posts leading up to Lui Ta Shek Shan.
We scrambled up the unmarked trail, and soon came across the two expansive grassy fields. Looking up from the second grassy field, the Thunder Struck Rock juts out below the summit. We continued to hike up and soon reached the peak of the hill. Lui Ta Shek Shan summit is slightly higher than Tai Tun Shan summit. Follow the trail to the rock, and take your time to enjoy the panoramic view of the greenery.
We took the same route back to the main trail. Turn left to follow the Pak Tam Chung sign to exit through the Country Park.
Hiking time: 3.5 hours including rest time
Starting Point: Pak Tam Chung Bus Stop --> secret passage through Pak Tam Chung far end of the parking lot
End Point: Pak Tam Chung Bus Stop
This is one of the hikes that I enjoyed the most. It is not a long hike yet the views are amazing. It is easily accessible, challenging, adventurous, not crowded and fun to hike. The trail is not manmade with concrete road as most Hong Kong trails.
Highly recommended!! Enjoy the hike!
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