Sharp peak is considered to be one of the toughest hikes in Hong Kong even though it’s just 468 meters high. I was a bit nervous the previous night before 27th January, but my 10 year old lad said “Mama you’ve climbed Mount Fuji and Mount Kinabalu so this should be easy.” But I told him never underestimate a mountain and never ever be overconfident.
However, my dear friend Lamiya and I were able to climb it with élan and hike across a range of hills and beach hop, making this hike an absolutely memorable adventure.
Difficulty: 8/10 it’s treacherous, risky and absolutely rugged and long
Duration: 7 hours over 15 kilometres as we took our time climbing down the hill range and also took the long route to Sai Wan Pavilion
How to get there: Lamiya and I took the purple line train to Hang Hau Mtr and exited at B1. Just to the left of the exit was the bus terminus. We took the green mini bus 101M to the last stop; Sai Kung Waterfront Park terminus/ Sai Kung pier. There were toilets to relieve ourselves before the big hike. From there we took the bus number 94 to Pak Tam Au. Number 96R only available on weekends.
We crossed the road at Pak Tam Au and came to the public toilets. That’s where the hike starts.
The initial part was all concrete. Just a narrow path that led to Chek Keng.
We came to a sign post that pointed towards Ham Tin and Wong Shek Pier. We followed the trail pointing towards Ham Tin.
We came to Chek Keng pier which was a pretty sight. We came across abandoned houses on the way and a vast expanse of water!
We continued on the path and came across many dilapidated, abandoned houses. There was an eerie feeling in the air.
I peeked into a house and also happened to see pictures of the inhabitants hanging on the wall.
We continued on our way and met some sweet college boys who were on their way to the peak too. They were so kind, they checked with us if we carried food, water and gloves. They said that if we could hike up sharp peak, west dog’s teeth at Lantau would be somewhat similar.
Potty style pose 
Potty style pose… thanks to Lamiya 😛
We passed the Chek Keng Public toilet which was the last toilet till Ham Tin beach. We walked faster as we were anxious to climb that majestic pointed peak waiting impatiently for us.
We finally came to a sign pointing towards Ham Tin and opposite that a danger sign, the Maclehose trail sign and a flight of steps going upwards. We decided to start our ascent.
We could see Sharp Peak in the distance and we also realised it wasn’t just that peak we had to climb up but there were two strenuous climbs before to reach that goddamn peak 😱.
Just before the climb there was a sign stating that this was a dangerous hike etc etc. We continued, danger ⚠️ here we come.
We came across a similar warning but we continued. We were ready to face the peak head on 😅. Sharpie here we come💪🏻💪🏻.
We started part 1 upwards. Lovely views graced us on both sides
We wore our gloves. I normally climb without gloves but for this one, I did and all hikers on this trail wore gloves. I didn’t want to act all ‘Wonderwoman’ and decided to follow the crowd.
We climbed like spiders, monkeys and all kinds of creepy crawlies you could think of. It was fun!! I love climbing!! I felt like mankind in the initial stages of evolution.
My monkey 
All sweaty 
We still had more climbing or crawling to do. Phewww!!
Finally the last climb and up we went!
At the top!
We were famished and thirsty so we gorged on chutney and egg sandwiches after the oranges we had before the climb. We ended our meal with our favourite cola from India called ‘ Thums Up’. I think that really pushed our bums up later 😅.
We chilled for a bit on top. Saw two young twats smoking like chimneys atop the peak. They poked fun at us… as we were trying to figure our way down…we ignored them. Kids!!! But a sweet boy again told us that every way down was going to be a challenge.
We decided that we would not take the way we climbed back as we wanted to explore and try a different route. so we came down a bit and took the route going left. ( see picture for future reference)
We started following that path and OMG it was worse than the climb up. As I mentioned earlier, climbing is my forte but going downhill makes me crawl like a snail.
The way down was tough. I slipped and fell twice. My behind was as dusty as ever but I enjoyed every bit of it. We sang songs as we walked down and remembered our singing friend Urvi who is the singer in our group.
We climbed up and then downhill… it was never ending. Whenever we felt that we were near, there was a hill waiting for us.
Finally we found a way down to Tai Wan beach. It was extremely pretty and clean.
We decided to head back to civilisation since sunset was near. So we asked one of the campers who was really patient and kind and extremely helpful. He made me click a picture of the map from his phone.
However, we followed a group of hikers and ended up on Ham Tin beach. This climb involved loads of bushwhacking and hanging onto branches like Tarzan as we climbed down to the beach.
Finally we reached Ham Tin. We had to cross over a body of water on planks. Imagine a balancing act with rickety knees!
We saw a sign that pointed towards Sai Wan. Here Sai Wan meant the beach. So the sign meant 2 km to the beach and climbing we did again. At this point I was extremely hungry, I ran out of water too. So we decided to dig into the tastiest Pav Bhaji in the world ( Indian street food of fried buttered bread with mashed vegetables cooked in butter and Indian masalas with onions and lime juice) made by Lamiya. We ate whilst we climbed.
The sun was setting and it was getting dark. We walked hurriedly on the path to Sai Wan. A group of ladies wanted their photograph to be clicked at the Stargazing sight which I politely did.
We continued on the concrete path and turned left when there was a crossroad. We didn’t take the path that pointed towards Sai Wan via Lo Tei Tun.
We entered Sai Wan Village and walked quickly as dusk had set in.
We came to a sign that pointed towards Sai Wan Pavilion which was another hour. Oh no!!! We continued as there was no other way out.
We came to another board later that stated 1/2 hour towards Sai Wan road. We were happy as the end was near.
Finally, we reached Sai Wan Pavilion. Thankfully there were other hikers to give us company.
However, there was no network and no bus so we decided to call for a cab. Some cab drivers in green taxis greeted us but since there were so many hikers at the end it was difficult to get one. Our mobile data connection was useless and Uber wasn’t reachable.
Thankfully Lamiya was able to call Tung Chung taxi who took time but he finally reached the top near Sai Wan Pavilion. He was extremely nice and dropped me to a cab too.
Some hikers took the green taxi to Sai Kung Town centre. But we were tired so we decided to cab it back home.
Under normal circumstances you could take a green taxi to the Sai Kung Pier and take the 101M back to Hang Hau.
Another option would be to retrace your steps back from Sharp Peak via Chek Keng to Pak Tam Au and take the 94 number bus from there. Another option is speedboats from Chek Keng pier to Wong Shek pier and then take number 94.
Yes, we ended at Sai Wan Pavilion at dusk and network is bad but green taxis are there. Most of them are extremely kind and nice.
This is a hike for only advanced hikers with experience in slippery slopes and rocks and great stamina. Another point I must make here is carry lots of water, sunscreen and gloves. This hike is long so carry some energy bars, fruit, sandwiches etc as you need the energy.
It’s best to hike Sharp peak in winter, though in summer it could be doable ending with a dip in the beach.
This is not a dog friendly or child friendly hike unless you want to torture them.
Overall it’s a great hike, not impossible but surely not for the faint hearted.
For more fun adventures follow me on
https://www.facebook.com/honkiehiker/.
Thank you 😊. Happy hiking and stay safe.
Cant wait the weather getting better to climb the peak Up
Yes…. it’s lovely 😊