Lion Rock Hike In Hong Kong: The Hiker’s Guide

The Lion Rock hike in Hong Kong is one of the most popular trails in the region with an epic viewpoint over Kowloon all the way to Hong Kong Central. The lion-head shaped rock at the summit is the perfect spot to watch the sunset over the city from the forest.

MY EXPERIENCE HIKING THE TRAIL TO LION ROCK PEAK IN HONG KONG

The Lion Rock hike can begin at the Wong Tai Sin MTR Station for some but for us, it began after being dropped by the taxi at Fat Jong Temple. We saved ourselves a short walk up the hill but we still had a way to go, trudging up Shatin Road to reach the start of the trek. Along Shatin Road, we caught a few glimpses out to our left of the city as we peered through the forest.

I was glad to finally reach the entrance arch and veer off of the road and onto the trail. It only feels like a hike once you have dirt beneath your feet and you have left the paved roads behind. The Lion Peak Rock trail begins with an immediate ascent of steps, which sets the tone for the numerous staircases throughout the route.

From the very first moment of the trek, you are immersed in the forest. The gaps in the foliage offer views back towards the city, which allows you the perspective of how far up you are climbing. I thought this trail was one of the most well-defined in Hong Kong but also very natural and in parts, the forest seemed to engulf as on all sides.

After about 45-minutes, we reached a sign that pointed up towards the Lion Rock summit. It indicated there was 500m left before we would reach the top.

However, what the sign forgot to mention was that it was almost 500m of stairs! This was the hardest part of the hike with an incredibly steep set of stairs to navigate before you are rewarded with the views at the summit. If you make it through these stairs, you deserve the epic scenery at the top!

The summit blew me away from the very first moment I emerged from the stairs. We had views all the way out over Kowloon and even towards Hong Kong Central. The summit is actually a long ridge and depending on which route you take, you will likely come up on the opposite end of the ridge to the Lion’s Head. If you are on the ridge, the head of the Lion is actually not very recognizable and is easier to see from the drone or even from other peaks or hikes in the area.

We reached the top during the golden hour and snapped a few photos but decided to continue our way along the ridge to visit the other viewpoints as well.

The second viewpoint had a huge stone ledge. It was the perfect sunset viewing platform. There is a huge, deadly drop-off if you were to have a fall so don’t take this ridge or stone viewpoints lightly. Be careful, be mindful and stay where you are comfortable and can enjoy the experience. I grabbed a photo of this couple enjoying the view, what a moment!

The next viewpoint was one of my favorites because as the sun goes down it leaks light off of the edge of the rock on top of the summit. With a few trees on top, I thought it would be the perfect spot for a silhouette photo with the backdrop of the city buildings. The photo after this one is the view from on top of the summit pictured.

We were now at the second last viewpoint and with just one more viewpoint to go and the light quickly fading, I decided to throw up the drone on the way to the final viewpoint to catch the last light. The aerial view from the drone allowed me to gain a new perspective of the ridge and to find a good angle of the Lion’s Head. These are my favorite captures from the air.

As the fiery red ball lowered itself out of the picture, most of the crowds left. However, in Hong Kong, there is always the idea to wait and see how the scene will look once the city lights up. It was a warm night and we weren’t in a rush so we stuck around to see the city lights slowly switch on.

I advise always carrying a little tripod up on hikes for this very situation so you can catch a long exposure nightscape shot. I’m not too great at them but captured one on my wide-angle nonetheless. I advise bringing a tighter lens maybe 100mm+ to really zoom in on some of the details as the scene was a bit flat on my 35mm from Lion Rock on this night. There were some night photography gurus up on the summit who were getting some night tighter-in photos so it seems to be a great vantage point for night shots.

After the night shots, we made our way back down the trail taking a different route back down from the way up. We headed directly down from Lion’s Head to complete the loop and make our way back to civilization and catch a train home to cap off an epic Hong Kong adventure. I hope you get a great sunset and enjoy looking out over the city on one of the best hikes in Hong Kong.