PILGRIMAGE JOURNEY ON LANTAU, Lantau Peak (鳳凰山) and Ngong Ping (昂坪), Lantau Island (大嶼山), Hong Kong

Not a particular fine day in Mid-December, but our souls yearned for a brief departure from the crowded streets and densely built-up neighborhoods of Central Hong Kong.  We picked the Lantau Peak (鳳凰山) on Lantau Island.  At 934m above sea level, Lantau Peak is the second highest peak in Hong Kong, and we expected there would be a considerable amount of steps to climb.  After less than an hour of ferry and a bus ride, we arrived at the trailhead at Pak Kung Au (伯公坳).  Known as Section 3 of the Lantau Trail (鳳凰徑), the 5.5km hike from Pak Kung Au up to Lantau Peak and then down to the Big Buddha of Ngong Ping would take about 4 hours.

With our back facing Hong Kong’s 3rd highest peak, the Sunset Peak (大東山, 869m), we followed the signs to begin the climb of Lantau Peak.

The climb took us less than two hours, on a mostly exposed mountain trail winding on mountain ridges until reaching the final portion of the hike which was largely uneven steps.

Camellia (茶花) is quite a common sight when hiking in during the winter months in Hong Kong.

The air of Hong Kong during the winter months could be quite hazy.

On our way up, despite the haze and smog from China, we could still faintly see the beaches, Tung Chung New Town and Hong Kong International Airport below.

The steps seemed never ended, but we pushed ourselves to go for the final assault for the summit.

The air was much cooler as we approached the last bit of the uphill climb.

The mountainous landscape down below was quite scenic.

Up on the summit it was foggy, windy and cool.

At the top platform, there was a simple shelter for wind protection, a wooden plague stating the height of the mountain, and lots of visitors taking pictures.

The wooden plague stating the summit of Lantau Peak at 934m.

It was windy up there and we didn’t stay for long on the summit.

The downhill hike towards Ngong Ping (昂坪) was uneven steps all the way down.  Facing Shek Pik Reservoir (石壁水塘) in a distance, we took our time for the descend.

The stepped trail then switched north towards Ngong Ping.  We could recognize the silhouette of Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛), Po Lin Buddhist Monastery (寶蓮禪寺), and the sea beyond where construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge was almost completed.

Although we could see our destination, there was still quite a long way of steep steps to go before reaching Ngong Ping.

The Buddha was getting bigger as we gradually walked closer to Ngong Ping.

Reaching the gateway of “Sunrise on Lantau Peak” signified that we had reached Ngong Ping.

After about 3 hours on the trail and just a stone throw away from Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, we reached a unique landscape feature known as the Wisdom Path (心經簡林).

The Wisdom Path is consisted of large wooden columns set up in the pattern of an infinity symbol (8).  On each column, text from the Heart Sutra (心經) or Mahayana Sutraare inscribed onto the wood.

Finally we reached Tian Tan Buddha.  Up on the upper platform where the Buddha sat, here were six angle-like statues handing offerings to the Buddha known as “The Offering of the Six Devas”.

Installed in 1993, Tian Tan Buddha (天壇大佛) is a large bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni.

Below the Buddha, Ngong Ping (昂坪) has been developed by the government as a tourist corridor with retail, restaurants, and entertainment businesses.  We didn’t check out any of the shops.  All we wanted was to catch a bus for Tung Chung, where where we could switch to the MTR (Hong Kong’s reliable metro system) for our journey home.