Although overshadowed in popularity by the Dragons Back trail, the Lion Rock Hike in Hong Kong offers equally spectacular views in easy reach of Kowloon. As we’re staying on Hong Kong Island, we catch a ferry across Victoria Harbour, and then a taxi which gets us as far up Shatin Pass Road as possible. (You can also get to the Lion Rock Hike by public transport – see the “Getting There” section at the bottom.)
We continue up the road on foot; Shatin Pass Road was constructed by the British Army to access Sha Tin Pass and the remote villages in the Sha Tin District from Kowloon. It’s still open to traffic in one direction only, but there are very few cars on the road.
We soon reach Sha Tin Pass and Lions Pavilion, and make a very short detour up to Shap Yi Wat Village, where a few shops sell water and soft drinks. You could continue along Shatin Pass Road, which is popular for trail-running and offers a number of viewpoints over Kowloon.
Stage 4 of the Wilson Trail and Stage 5 of the MacLehose Trail split at the pass; the Lion Rock hike forms part of the 100km MacLehose Trail. Much of the MacLehose Trail Stage 5 traverses Lion Rock Country Park, which is fairly small but is one of the earliest country parks of Hong Kong (it was designated on 24 June 1977).
The trail ascends steeply, reaching the first of many viewpoints over Kowloon – although the view is marred a little by an enormous electricity pylon.
It’s a relentless climb for the first kilometre or so, with a series of vantage points offering spectacular views over Kowloon and towards Victoria Harbour – despite it being a typically hazy day.
One of the most scenic sections of the Lion Rock hike is where the fenced trail passes a more open section, with sweeping views to the south.
The MacLehose Trail Stage 5 / Lion Rock trail passes the Gin Drinkers Line, a British military defensive line against the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941 which was constructed sporadically from 1936 to 1938. Termed “The Maginot Line of The East”, it was a series of defensive positions with bunkers, concrete fortified machine gun posts, trenches, and artillery batteries – and directional slabs to help British troops find their way around the defensive system. It was considered to be a complete failure, with the Gin Drinkers Lineline and the whole of Kowloon abandoned by the British troops in just two days.
Some six weeks before the attack ….(back to working on the line) [my paraphrase]. To assist the service personnel in finding the scores of pillboxes, Coy & Bn HQ’s, food shelters, kitchens and the like, large square concrete blocks were erected giving directions by arrow and designation of the type of installation. They must have been perfect markers for the Japanese. Plotted them for a plan for WO after the war, they had no records.
After these historic defensive structure is a very nice (albeit short) section of forest – before some more nice views.
As the trail gains elevation, there’s a view to the north over Sha Tin and towards Tai Po for the first time.
Next to the Lion Peak Trail to the east of Garter Pass is a sign indicating the location of a pillbox (PB219) – a small, partly underground concrete fort – which was blown up by the Army in the 1950s, after WWII. A bit further is another directional slab.
After 1.6km the trail reaches a signposted junction at Garter Pass: the MacLehose Trail (Stage 5) continues around the norther side of Lion Rock and Lion Head. A steep trail goes pretty much directly up to Lion Rock.
Lion Rock (495m) or Lion Rock Hill is a granite peak covered sparsely by shrubs, which gets its name from a resemblance to a crouching lion when viewed from the south.
There are sweeping views from Lion Rock over Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.
The Lion Rock Trail follows the ridge – along the “back of the lion” – towards Lion Head.
One of the most dramatic views is from the saddle between Lion Rock and Lion Head, where the city of Hong Kong is framed between the two peaks.
There’s a view of the trail as it climbs up from the saddle, before it enters the forest.
As the Lion Rock trail emerges from the forest, it crosses a second, smaller and more exposed saddle. Directly ahead is Lion Head.
There’s quite a few people on Lion Head; at 493m it’s just two metres lower than Lion Rock. As there’s no vegetation on the rocky granite peak, it offers even more spectacular, 360-degree views.
Kowloon and Victoria Harbour is to the south, Kam Shan Country Park to the north, Lantau Island to the west and to the east is the Lion Rock peak and beyond it Sha Tin and Pak Kong.
From Lion Head, the trail descends to Kowloon Pass, where it re-joins the MacLehose Trail.
While the most spectacular part of the Lion Head hike is over, there are still some great views as the trail descends. To the west is Beacon Hill, which is further along the MacLehose Trail.
As with the ascent from Sha Tin Pass, the trail passes a series of informal viewpoints, where you can see different parts of the city and harbour through the trees.
An exposed granite slab offers a great view of Beacon Hill and Kowloon.
Just before Kowloon Pass is the Wind & Rain Pavilion, one of many built in 1970s and renovated in 1990s to provide shelter for hikers. Near the shelter is another War Department Marker Stone – this one was placed here at the start of the 20th century, demarcating an area along Kowloon Ridge used for defence purposes.
Many trails converge at Kowloon Pass (316m): you can continue along the MacLehose Trail over Beacon Hill, or head north up to Amah Rock… or descend south down the ridge via a couple of routes to finish the Lion Rock hike near Lion Rock Park.
Although I’d have liked to continue hiking, my son’s decided that he’s had enough Hong Kong nature for the day, so we pick one of the routes that descends south from Kowloon Pass.
We pass an interesting semi-natural lookout, and a “Lion Rock Peak” sign that confirms we’re on the “official” trail that provides access to Lion Rock from the western side.
The rough paved trail turns into a very smooth paved trail as we descend, finally reaching the trailhead on Lion Rock Road.
This fairly short version of the Lion Rock Hike took a couple of hours – but you could easily extend it into a longer, or full-day hike. There are also other routes you can take to get to the peak, but the trail from Shatin Pass is considered the most scenic.
Getting to Lion Rock
The usual direction for Lion Rock seems to be east to west – although there is no reason to walk it in this direction. The eastern trailhead is along Shatin Pass Road; you can catch a taxi to the start of the road (next to the Temple Hill Fat Jong Temple) or walk up from the Wong Tai Sin MTR station – which adds a 1.1km, uphill walk.
At the western end, the shortest exit route from Lion Rock takes you down to near Lion Rock Park in Chuk Un. From here you can again get a taxi, or it’s about a 2km downill walk to the MTR Lok Fu Station (or catch a bus from Chuk Yuen Road).
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