【Hong Kong Photography Hotspots】Surf-Downhill to Enter Tai Lam Chung Reservoir

 

Starting from Tuen Mun:

1. Tuen Mun Town Centre Light Rail Station (River Side Street) / Near San Hui Market: Take Green Minibus 43, get off at the terminal So Kwun Wat Village, then enter the village via the left path and hike uphill

Starting from Yuen Long:

1. Take Red Minibus from Yuen Long Kwai Fong Wai to Wong Nai Tun Village, walk about 10 minutes to Yeung Uk Tsuen to start hiking
2. Transfer at West Rail Long Ping Station to K66 Feeder Bus to Tai Tong Lychee Garden, then start hiking from Barbecue Site 6 of Tai Lam Country Park

 

Hiking Route (Tuen Mun to Yuen Long):

So Kwun Wat –> MacLehose Trail Section 10 –> Tai Lam Chung Reservoir –> Wong Nai Tun Reservoir –> Yeung Uk Tsuen –> Tai Tong

We had a clear goal: hike and then have dinner in Yuen Long, so we chose to start from Tuen Mun～

 

Screenshot from Google Maps

Took Green Minibus 43, arrived at the terminal So Kwun Wat Village after about 30 minutes, then walked into the village via the left path. Follow the concrete road straight ahead, turn left at the first fork, then start climbing gradually until you see a map, then turn left again to continue.

Inside the village, it’s a concrete road—before you see the entrance to the hiking trail, just keep turning left at every fork

Facing the map, take the left path

 

It was a gradual uphill concrete road the whole way, and the entrance to the actual hiking trail wasn’t very obvious. We were chatting happily and unknowingly passed the entrance. After walking 5 minutes on the aqueduct, we found ourselves still on a long flat stretch and got curious. Just then, we met some people coming toward us, and as the saying goes, “the way is in the mouth”—we asked them where they came from:

 

Them: “We came up from Tuen Mun, if you go straight ahead it’s back to Tuen Mun”

Us: “Ohhhhh" (realizing we had gone the wrong way!)

Them: “(pointing directions)”

Us: “(more confused reactions)”

 

So we took a wrong turn right from the start. When we checked the map again, we realized that Tai Tong was actually behind us. Well, at least we didn’t discover the mistake after walking all the way to Tuen Mun. So we retraced our steps back to the marker post “M187 (Section 10 of the MacLehose Trail).”

If you see this septic tank (something that looks like a blue outhouse), “congratulations,” you’ve taken the wrong path—please turn back along the way～

Back tomarker post “M187”, the entrance to Section 10 of the MacLehose Trail is the entrance to Tai Lam Chung Reservoir！After just a few steps of stone stairs, the next 80–90% of the path is mountain trail, and it’s alsosteep, narrow, and full of gravel."What the...?

This little staircase is the actual entrance to the hike!! Nearby is the marker post “M187”

The gravel-strewn mountain path "What the...?" Out of some fantasy I don’t know where it came from, I thought this would be an easy family trail. But I was wearing running shoes with heavily worn soles

First I took a wrong turn, then realized I was wearing the wrong shoes, but that didn’t diminish my interest in this mountain. So everyone pitched in together to take on “Tai Lam Chung Reservoir”! We joked that this hiking trail is perfect for couples to challenge, as there are many tests of love along the way (laughs), and in fact, we did meet quite a few couples on the path～

 

The section from Tuen Mun has quite a few steep and gravelly parts, but there are fewer things to use as handholds compared to the Yuen Long side. So if you’re descending from Tuen Mun, these limited handholds can be quite dangerous.

Tree roots became the “ropes” for climbing up the mountain (sorry, tree roots "What the heck"... we were thinking, why are there so many people climbing up like in a swordsman drama with such unreliable roots? But when unsure, people would test them first before relying on them)

Everyone carefully tugged at the tree roots first to test whether they were really secure before using them to climb up

There are many small and unmarked forks along the uphill path, but they seem to converge again at some point further ahead. In any case, with the goal of “I want to get up the mountain,” and paying close attention to theguiding “ribbons”along the way, everyone was really impressed by whoever first came up with the idea of using ribbons to mark the trail. Thank you to that thoughtful and selfless person, inspiring more and more people to follow the “ribbon trail” method, benefiting future hikers. Of course, we chose to believe that those who put up the ribbons were kind-hearted, not playing pranks (hopefully not though "What the heck")

The ribbons are mostly red or blue, making them easier for hikers to spot in the sea of green forest

The section from Tuen Mun is relatively open with little shade, so hikers should take good sun protection measures and hydrate regularly to avoid heatstroke and ruining the fun.

Remember to keep replenishing lost fluids！

After about 1–1.5 hours of uphill hiking, we finally arrived at one of the photo spots and saw “Thousand Islands Lake”! That day, there was also a group of hikers resting there, planning to shoot the sunset. They had brought professional photography gear and heavy tripods—really impressive！

“Thousand Islands Lake,” with over ten islands of varying shapes and sizes. The bases of the islands are bare yellow earth, separating the green of the islands and the blue of the lake, making the color palette of “Thousand Islands Lake” even more beautiful！

Time for a selfie～

Next, we decided to head in an unknown direction. We weren’t sure if there was a path to Yuen Long ahead, but it seemed to be the right direction based on the map, so following the belief that “paths are made by walking,” we decided to give it a try.

Fortunately, we met another group of hikers coming toward us, and we asked our most frequently used question of the day“Where did you guys come from?”, to confirm that we were going the right way, because many people have gotten lost around “Thousand Islands Lake”—there are just too many forks here！

After passing the first photo spot, the path ahead got much easier！At least the trail got wider. Although the people we passed coming the other way reminded us to be careful further ahead, since they had come from Yuen Long, they said the upcoming path was very steep and gravelly. Likewise, we gave them the same warning, because the path from Tuen Mun wasn’t easy either. After hearing that, we all continued on with a mix of certainty (that we were going the direction we wanted) and doubt (whether the path ahead would really be steeper than what we’d just walked). Until we finished the whole trail, no one could decide whether “going up from Tuen Mun and down to Yuen Long” was better, or the reverse? Haha！I guess it depends on whether you prefer “starting with hardship and ending with joy” or the other way around～

I especially love gazing at the continuous mountain ranges—they have an incredible healing power for the soul～

Hong Kong’s mountain-cityscapes are also beautiful

 

How small humans are in the face of nature.

 

So as hikers, we should all respect and cherish nature, and remember to take our own trash away.

 

Only then can we live in harmony with nature.

 

I’m also very afraid that one day Hong Kong will become a city of nothing but high-rises.

 

Gazing at the city from the wilderness — this is the charm of Hong Kong as a city among mountains.

When we reached what seemed like the highest point, there were several forks in the path. As we wondered which way to go, paying closer attention revealed something “special” about the nearby bushes.You’d find one particular clump of bushes covered ina whole lot of ribbons, as if some kind soul had gone out of their way to remind everyone, “Hey!! This is the way to Uq!!!” Well, with so many helpful hints, we naturally followed them~

The density of the ribbons was enough to bring a smile — it made us wonder just how many people might have gotten lost here before, leading to so many ribbons being tied up XD

Since this spot (presumably) is the highest point, the rest of the path mainly descends downhill.

When we arrived at the second spot with a view of “Thousand Islands Lake” and met another group of hikers, we naturally seized the chance to ask again, “Where did you guys come from???” Who knew the answer this time would be... “铫?

The second viewpoint with a view of ‘Thousand Islands Lake,’ though lower than the first, still offers a great panorama of the islands.

The answer turned out not to be “Yuen Long,” but “Sau Ku Fai”!!

“Whaaaaaaat!!!! Sau Ku Fai???”

We, who had set out for Yuen Long but actually came from Sau Ku Fai, couldn’t help but gasp in shock at the answer — could it be that we’d walked all this way only to end up going in circles?

“Hey, relax, young folks.There’s a fork near the bottom of the hill — turn left to go up to Tai Tong, turn right to head down to Sau Ku Fai.No worries~”

Truly, “all roads lead to Rome.”

After that false alarm, we continued downhill. The path wasn’t too difficult, but there were two or three sections thatwere especially steep and slippery.Becausethe groundhad been walked on so much that it had beenworn smooth,and there were alsolots of loose rocks.If you’re not careful, you might really end up sliding down the hill like you’re surfing — or worse, take a face-first tumble and land flat on your backside~

The person walking in front is always the greatest — because they’re the first to get tripped up, serving as a warning to those behind to watch out for this spot “铫? So this honorable task naturally fell to Dad Fang. But before he could finish his sentence, his own backside ended up kissing the ground “铫?

The member with the smooth-soled shoes, No. 3, carefully "Sir" down the small slope~

The ultimate boss is on the nearly final stretch of the path！ Super steep and super slippery！！！

Be careful!Be careful!Be careful!!!!!

Going up here is relatively easier to exert force, but going down is also okay, at least there are ropes to hold onto. However, in Tuen Mun, there are basically no ropes to hold when going down, so we all agreed that “going up from Tuen Mun and down from Yuen Long” is the best plan~

Don't underestimate this short slope, it's seriously slippery. If you're not afraid of getting your butt burned or your pants ripped, you can definitely slide down like a slide~

Remember to keep a safe distance of 5-10 seconds from the person in front to avoid collisions, and try to keep your center of gravity low to make going down safer and more comfortable

After conquering the ultimate boss, the road ahead is simply a piece of cake because it’s all concrete, of course it’s easy-peasy Deng Zi Feng~

This is the fork between “Tai Tong? So Kwun Wat?” Coming out from the grass on the left, turn left and go uphill to Tai Tong (the uphill path behind Father Fang), turn right and go downhill to So Kwun Wat

Since the mountain path is indeed dangerous, with lots of gravel, narrow and steep, it’s not suitable to go down after dusk. Fortunately, we managed to get down before dark.

This is "Diaono Puleozhang? Li"

Walk to the end and you’ll see a dam on the left and a stone wall on the right. There’s a sign on the stone wall indicating the exit: Wong Nai Tun Tsuen Tai Tong Bus Stop！

 

Gradually returning from the wilderness to the city, the atmosphere of the sunset is pleasant. This is why I love sunsets~

The power lines can make for great compositions, like someone using the sky as a canvas and painting on it

The symmetrical image under the power lines

 

The wilderness, the city, seem so far yet so close~

The first thing you see when getting down the mountain is the bus stop sign

Yuen Long！ We’re almost at today’s destination！！！

There are signs pointing to the bus stop along the way

After getting down the mountain, you need to walk through “Yeung Uk Tsuen”, where various vegetables, aloe vera, and strawberries are grown"dia?

The refreshing smell of grass wafts through the air, mixed with the scent of organic fertilizer (i.e. poop XDD), which gives me a refreshing feeling. I especially love the scent of fields and rural life, and I really miss the farming life at Nan’ao Nature Farm in Taiwan during the summer of 2016 (Taiwan’s From Habit to Love: The Simple Life of “Having Nothing” - Nan’ao Nature Farm)

My dream is actually to be an unworldly Tao Yuanming~

I’m a Taoist dressed in Confucian thoughts (Taiwan’s A Taoist Dressed in Confucian Thoughts - Nan’ao Nature Farm)~

Aloe vera field

How beautiful the sunset is—no wonder so many friends went hiking today and took sunset photos.

 

The farm life I dream of the most～

 

Work at sunrise, rest at sunset.

One of the perks of having Yuen Long as the final stop is that you can take the opportunity to hand-pick big, sweet, and juicy strawberries to treat yourself—though it’s not cheap, costing $80 per pound, or $120 per person for pick-and-eat.

A large strawberry farm—just passing by, we were already drawn in by the sweet scent of strawberries.

To be honest, this is my first time seeing a strawberry farm XDDD

The guys were in charge of picking, while the girls focused on eating XDDD

Scripted dialogue Dad Fang: “What are you picking that one for? Isn’t it...?” Boss Chen: “What are you picking that one for? Doesn’t it look weird?”

In less than ten minutes, we had already filled two small baskets.

 

After rinsing the strawberries briefly, we ate them on the spot—they were really big, sweet, and juicy.

Organic strawberries～

Mutant strawberries!?

 

It took another 5–10 minutes of walking from the strawberry farm to reach the village exit, where we took the K66 shuttle bus to Long Ping, heading toward our ultimate goal of the day: Dinner Time XDDDD

 

(Cough cough) Hiking is all about being able to eat more delicious food～

(Cough cough cough) Hiking is to ease the guilt of eating so much good food～

(Praying hands) Well said～well said～

 

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