Hong Kong-Ma On Shan

It isn't easy getting to Ma On Shan. As i mentioned in one of my post, L & i got lost finding the place and had to go the next day again trying to find it. It took us 1hour finding the start point of the hike. Honestly, i wld strongly recommend to take a cab to the starting point to conserve your energy. Cause the way up to the starting point is a steep slope & it's tiring. The entire hike is said to be completed in 6hours. However, L & i took one wrong turn to what we thought was the finishing point & ended up starting ANOTHER long ass hike which had us hiking for 10hours instead of 6! Esp when it was super cold, it didn't make the situation any better. Let alone the fact tt i was wearing boots with short heels. I wasn't at all in proper clothing for the hike. I underestimated the intensity of the hike & how dangerous the routes are.

So in general, don't ever take the trails in Hong Kong lightly. These routes actually have signs along the way telling u to stop & indicates tt it is strictly for professional hikers in proper hiking equipment & gear. We went on anw cause we were feeling adventurous. & Boy did we truly get an adventure of a lifetime tt turned into a nightmare. We stupidly followed a group of professional hikers who happened to be on a 100km hike on the Maclehose trail. They were doing a 2days hike. Which means, they continuously hiked for 2 straight days with stop points for them to eat & rest before starting their hike again. We managed to reach their first checkpoint which btw, took us hours to reach from where we thought was our finishing line. Thank God a taxi happened to be at the carpark & we ran to the cab as fast as we cld. We stopped at a scouts association campsite. We didn't know there was a road back down to the city. It's a 1hour walk down if u follow the road. It's complicated to explain. But anw, the entire hike was fun but extremely tiring. Tiring only when we got lost. There are numerous steps & it goes on for abt 1km before it is at normal ground then the steps will appear again like it's never ending.

I hope this post i put tgth will help give those of you who are planning to hike in HK, a rough idea on what Ma On Shan looks like. & The directions to get there is not easy, but i hope my pictures provided will help. Email me if u have any enquiries & i'll do my best to help u! (:

Below are pictures on how to get to the start point of Ma On Shan.

1. Take the MTR to "Yiu On" station.
2. Walk past a condo called "Yiu On Estate". (Ask for directions to the estate if unsure how to walk there from the MTR as it is not exactly near the station.)
3. If u see the estate on the opp side of the road where u are walking, u are on the right path! Keep walking till u see the 2nd pic i posted & turn left. Walk all the way up till u see a flight of stairs & walk up.
4. Just follow the road till you see the road signs i posted below. Just rmbr tt it isn't a short walk up to the starting point. Like i said, take a cab up instead. There were may cabs passing by as we painstakingly dragged our feet up the steep slope of road!
5. U will know u are at the right place when u see the sign "Ma On Shan BBQ Site", as posted in one of the pictures i provided below.

P.S. Start your hike before 12pm in case you get lost. Also, bring a torchlight, water & light snacks in case of emergency. 

IMPT NOTE: This is not a hike for people who are unfit. The hiking trails get steeper & the pathway is narrow. One wrong slip & u'll def fall off the mountain. View my pictures below to see what the trail is like. We started our hike early thus, we had the time to take photos. Also, we managed to catch the sunset as planned but it was after the sun set tt we got lost. To get off the mountain, head towards the Yu On Estate route back down. Dont take any other routes as it may lead u to another hike!

We went up here. This was our start point of the actual hike.

This was our first resting point. Before this, was steps all the way!

After walking up another long flight of stairs & a rough route, u will reach this area. U have to climb up like we did to get to the top.

Climbed up another route(above pic), to get to the picture u see below.

U will reach this place & u can see the city of HK. Pretty amazing & breathtaking.

Walking up this route is steep. So be careful. It's actually a whole lot easier if u have a proper hiking stick. Helps ALOT in keeping your balance. I used a sturdy branch i found on the ground.

Literally climbing up the rocks as you can see from this picture.





Came to this route a some point which was pretty cool. Having towering plants above your heads all of a sudden was pretty interesting. It was a true adventure. L & i had so much fun in here taking photos & all. Lol.

Can u see the route? It is tt steep & narrow.

When u reach this pathway, u are very close to ending the route! Just make sure to go towards the sign tt says "Yiu On Estate" when u reach a cross path tt shows 3 signs. One wrong turn & tt's it! U start another hike which goes on for another 6hours or more depending on how much further u can carry on. 

All in all, this was a great experience for L & i despite getting lost. When i do visit HK again, im def gna hike again but this time, in proper clothing. Hahaha.