For such a tiny place, Hong Kong has some really great hikes. The Dragon’s Back is probably one of the world’s most scenic and pleasant coastal hikes. Located on the southeastern tip of Hong Kong Island on a peninsula jutting out into the sea, Dragon’s Back is a mountain ridge that overlooks Shek O Bay. Besides the views, what makes Dragon’s Back great is that the hike is only a short bus ride from a subway station.
The hike starts from a path next to the To Tei Wan stop, which I got to on the #9 bus from Chai Wan subway station. Before you get on the path, you can enjoy fine views on the opposite side of the road (this being the west side of a peninsula) of Tai Tam bay and a ringed apartment complex. The path goes up a long flight of stairs but once you reach the top, it’s a nice walk along a ridge during which you enjoy unobstructed views of Shek O Bay, beaches, villages, and the Tai Tam headland.
Dragon’s Back is a very well-known hike and I’ve heard that the trail is full of people on weekends as it’s popular with locals, expats and visitors. As such, I chose to go on a weekday when I had free time so there were only a handful of people.
After Dragon’s Back, the trail heads gradually downward to a forest path on the hill that goes on a clockwise loop (see the map on this site) down to Big Wave beach. It’s a completely different sensation walking along this path shaded by trees, vegetation and streams after the wide open views from Dragon’s Back. This trail is also section 8 of the Hong Kong trail, a 50-km islandwide route that goes across the entire Hong Kong Island.
The loop adds at least an hour to the hike and while it is not hard, I had the misfortune of tripping over a large brown snake while staring at Googlemaps on my phone. Luckily, the only harm I suffered was a huge fright that resulted in me jumping twice (the first after I tripped, and the second after I realized it was a snake and not a long piece of rope). I definitely learned my lesson not to stare at my phone while walking along quiet forest paths.
The forest path eventually reaches a concrete clearing where it diverges into two paths heading in opposite directions. I took the path to the right and walked all the way (there are at least two side paths on this trail you can use to head back down if you don’t want to continue onwards) to Big Wave beach, then proceeded to Shek O village in a taxi shared with a HK couple (who kindly paid the full fare and refused to accept money from me).
The village features a headland, where you can look out on the South China Sea. While it’s probably a 10-15 minute walk between Big Wave beach and Shek O village, I was not in the mood to walk after just completing a 3-hour hike.
If you don’t want to walk down to Big Wave beach, you can choose to stop midway at the above-mentioned clearing and take the left path down to Cape Collinson bus stop. From there, you can take a bus back to Shau Kei Wan Wan station (or in the opposite direction to Big Wave beach).
Some people actually do Dragon’s Back in the opposite direction to how I did it, by getting off at Cape Collinson bus stop, walking along the forested path up to Dragon’s Back, before then coming down to To Tei Wan stop.
Whichever way you choose to do it, you will definitely enjoy the experience.
How to get there: From Shau Kei Wan MTR station on the Island line, take the #9 bus and get off at To Tei Wan stop.
Big Wave bay on the left, Shek O village and the headland on the right
Country club which lies between Shek O village on the right and Big Wave beach (to the left but not in the photo)
Path along Dragon’s Back ridge
Forest path (above and below) after Dragon’s Back
Small temple at Shek O village
Big Wave beach
Nice view of the endless sea from the headland
Looking north from the headland at Kowloon
View of apartments from To Tei Wan bus stop, where the Dragon’s Back trail begins.
I also came across a snake once when hiking in HK island 😂 and caterpillars the size of my index finger.
Was it a big one or a small one? I like seeing snakes but only from afar, and not tripping over them. That sounds like a giant caterpillar, ha.
It was not too small, she was sunbathing lying in the middle of the path. I think we woke her up and I don’t know who was more scared, the snake or us 😂
Haha, yeah, snakes usually are also afraid of humans too.