Devil’s Peak Hike In Hong Kong: The Hiker’s Guide

Devil’s Peak hike is a bit of a strange adventure, passing you through a huge cemetery and a number of fortification ruins. However, despite the sometimes eerie atmosphere, it is a great view of Hong Kong as you peer into Victoria Harbor with Kowloon on your right and Central on your left.

DEVIL’S PEAK HIKING GUIDE

In this blog post, I’ll share everything you need to know about the the Devil’s Peak hike including where it is, how to get there, and when it’s best to visit.

DEVIL’S PEAK HIKE  DETAILS

• Hike Distance: The total loop distance is just 3-kilometers. This is a very slow-paced, easy walk up the hill.
• Hike Duration: The hike should take about an hour in duration but you can bargain to spend some extra time at the summit.
• Hike Difficulty: Very easy hike with paved path half the time and well-defined trail the rest.
• Hike Incline: 180m of incline

MY EXPERIENCE ON THE DEVIL’S PEAK HIKE IN HONG KONG

The Devil’s Peak Hike is known to be one of the nice sunset spots in Hong Kong with just a short hike up from the train station. We set off in late afternoon towards the peak, hoping the weather would change a little and the sun would peak it. Unfortunately, we had no sun but it was still a great viewpoint and the batteries/forts along the trail were quite interesting to explore.

The first part of the trail is quite eerie. There are a lot of buildings that have been overrun by the forest and actually there was a lot of trash strewn about. It was an odd start to a hike that involved a long staircase, winding up the hill.

At the top of the hill is a huge cemetery, which spans the entire hill. It looks big from the top of the hill but when I flew the drone, I saw it was massive and it’s just insane how big this cemetery is. It adds to the already eerie atmosphere of the hike.

Once you reach the cemetery, the next part of the hike gets off of the staircases and onto a dirt trail. It’s not far but you will work your way through the trees until you reach the first battery.

Devil’s Peak actually has a very unique location because it looks out over Lei Yue Mun, which is a narrow passage into Victoria Harbor. It was one of the 16 major sea passage as classified by the Ming Dynasty. After the British acquired the ‘New Territories’ in 1898, they proceeded to build several military stations atop Devil’s Peak. The Gough Battery and the Pottinger Battery were constructed on the southern slopes, both of which are still on the route today.

While the batteries are great places to explore, the main attraction of the hike is the top viewpoint. Here you can see out over Victoria Harbor to Central and Kowloon. There are lots of different spots to hang out up at the summit and if you are in for a good sunset it will be a great spot to spend the evening.

The trail now heads down the backside of the route, which may be the prettiest section of the route. The best viewpoint of them all was tucked away here on a little rock perch. This is where we watched the sunset although it never really came that night! It would be a great rock for night photography too!

Once you are heading down from the summit, it is just a 30-minute walk back to the train station and it is safe enough to do it in the dark if you have stayed up at the top to see the city lights.