Things to do in Hong Kong, China: The Best Geologic Formations

May 20, 2021 Marissa Gamble

Delectable dim sum, floating islands, and a one-of-a-kind skyline are just some of Hong Kong’s unique features. Get an eyeful of traditional Chinese architecture in Ngong Ping village, then take the tram to the tippity-top of Victoria Peak for unparalleled views. The rocks and gentle hills of Nan Lian Garden will bring you inner peace, as will a calming cup of tea in a Stanley café. Become one with everything at the Chi Lin Nunnery, a serene Buddhist complex.
Restaurants in Hong Kong

1. Po Pin Chau

Po Pin Chau, Sai Kung East Country Park, Hong Kong China http://www.itishk.com/2014/10/po-pin-chau-sea-stack-island-cut-away-fa-shan/
Excellent
100%
Good
0%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 1 reviews

Po Pin Chau

2. Old Fisherman's Rock

Peng Yu Path, Hong Kong China http://www.360cities.net/it/image/fishermans-rock-peng-chau-hk-hong-kong?pano_detail=true&portfolio_view=false
Excellent
100%
Good
0%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 2 reviews

Old Fisherman's Rock

Reviewed By Mairwen1

This is one of the very striking parts of Peng Chau Island. Beside a small beach, on a rocky knoll, you will see this dramatic rock formation, known as Old Fisherman’s Rock. The rock stack looks precariously perched as if it is almost about to topple over. It’s very scenic, especially as the view beyond the rock looks across the water to Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. A narrow, scrubby path lets you can clamber up to the top for a good photo but beware of the bushes as you climb up - they are rough and scratchy. A second outcrop of rocks sits a little further out, behind Old Fisherman’s Rock. At low tide you can walk around them and when we were there, several locals with buckets and knives were collecting some type of shell fish from the rock platform. At high tide, the platform is submerged and the outcrop becomes cut off. Fisherman’s Rock is part of the Peng Yu Path, an easy, mostly level walking trail that takes you past several small beaches and around the northern part of Peng Chau.

3. Crab Cave (Cape D'aguilar)

Cape D'aguilar, Hong Kong China http://hongkonghikinglover.com/2021/01/17/crab-cave-and-the-bokhara-battery-cape-daguilar-medium/
Excellent
100%
Good
0%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

5.0 based on 3 reviews

Crab Cave (Cape D'aguilar)

Reviewed By TheOExpress - Hong Kong, China

...which rewards with spectacular crashing of waves and great climbing opportunities, seemingly all to find the perfect photo...so you may have to wait your turn to capture the image you came for. As a spectacle aside from taking pics, it’s a great spot to just watch the sea, either through the gap or from above.

4. Lion Rock

Hong Kong China
Excellent
61%
Good
34%
Satisfactory
5%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 103 reviews

Lion Rock

At 1624 feet tall this is one of Hong Kong's most recognizable landmarks.

Reviewed By Mairwen1

What an amazing walk – this has to be the most stunning walk in Hong Kong. The stark granite peak is incredibly striking and the views from this 495 metre point over Hong Kong, Kowloon, Shatin and the New Territories are just breathtaking. It’s like standing on top of the world. An added fun aspect to the walk was seeing macaque monkeys along the way. Overall, it’s a challenging walk and you definitely want to do it in the cooler months if you can, not in the middle of summer. You also want to do it on a clear day because there’s no way you want to sweat your way to the top and find those incredible views obscured by haze or fog. Most importantly, go prepared. Water, snacks, hat and sunscreen are absolute essentials. Be aware that there is nowhere to refill water bottles so take enough with you. You also want good shoes with grip because some of the paths are steep and rocky and have loose gravelly, slippery surfaces. Allow yourself around 3-4 hours. GETTING THERE: From Wong Tai Sin MTR, there are a couple of ways to start the walk. The most common starting point is Jong Fat Temple and Shatin Pass Rd but this involves a long stretch of uphill road and then killer stairs to the ridge. I prefer to start at Lion Rock Park on Lion Rock Rd (near the BBQ area and archery club). It’s a much shorter trail through bushland. We caught a taxi from Wong Tai Sin MTR ($24HKD) to here, then walked past the boom gate on our right and almost immediately, there are stairs on your left with a makeshift sign saying ‘Lion Rock’. This path will take you all the way up to Lion Rock via the Reunification Pavilion and you can continue along the ridge before heading down to join Shatin Pass.

5. Kang Lau Shek (Tung Ping Chau)

Southeast Corner of Tung Ping Chau., Hong Kong China
Excellent
50%
Good
50%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 2 reviews

Kang Lau Shek (Tung Ping Chau)

Reviewed By BradJill - Hong Kong, China

One of the highlights of visiting the outlying island of Tung Ping Chau is found at Kang Lau Shek along the Southeast corner of the island. Here you will find particularly interesting, slanted sedimentary land formations, the result of millions of years of water erosion, making up a dramatic and incredibly beautiful shoreline. You can reach this location along the Tung Ping Chau Trail. It is around 500 metres past the A Ma Wan beach area. Here you first see two 7 metre tall sedimentary land towers. On both sides of the towers, you will find angled layers of exposed sedimentation deposits, which are separated and allow for numerous rock pools to form. Depending on the tidal position, you may see fish, crabs, sea hares and other marine life in the pools. The land and rock formations at Kang Lau Shek are remarkable and make for beautiful scenery. It is a rewarding location to explore and spend time as part of your visit to Tung Ping Chau Island. This is definitely a place you shouldn't skip and walk past as it offers some of the most unique geology available to be seen in all of Hong Kong's waters and territory. Note: There are two information panels at Kang Lau Shek which describe the interesting land and rock formations you will see here as well as the ecological life found in the rock pools at this location.

6. Lai Chi Chong Geosite

Lai Chi Chong Sai Kung Country Park West, Hong Kong China http://www.geopark.gov.hk/en_s2b2d.htm
Excellent
50%
Good
50%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 2 reviews

Lai Chi Chong Geosite

Reviewed By BradJill - Hong Kong, China

The Lai Chi Chung geosite is one of the very interesting inclusions of the UNESCO Global Geopark in Hong Kong. It is located on the northern shore of the Sai Kung West Country Park in the Tolo Harbour and can be reached by hiking trail and ferry service from the Ma Liu Shi Ferry Pier at Science Park. This particular geosite is noted for rare volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks and a wide variety of other sedimentary rock structures of a variety of colour and shapes including rhythmic bedding, graded bedding and incredible fold structures. There are delightful pockets of colourful tuffite, tuffaceous sandstone and other geological structures all of which is found within a couple hundred meter stretch of the shore to the west of the ferry pier. Shortly after passing the ferry pier you will find information panels providing the location of 8 highlights along the beachfront and explaining some of the geological features found here at Lai Chi Chung. Note that the exposed geological structures are mostly visible during low tide so intending visitors need to check the tide schedule before setting off. You can find the tide information through google search or on the Hong Kong Observatory website. To visit Lai Chi Chung, you can hike in from Pak Sha O to the east or from the village of Sham Cham from the west by way of the Kai Ma Tung pass. You'll find this trail and full route details on the Hiking Trail Hong Kong mobile app. Alternatively, you can take direct ferry from the Ma Liu Shi Ferry Pier which departs to Tap Mun (inc. second stop - Lai Chi Chung) twice daily at 8.30am and 3pm. It is a 45 minute ferry ride and cost HK$18 weekdays, HK$28 weekends). Do check the updated ferry schedule online as well in the event of future changes to the present schedule.

7. Ap Chau Sea Arch (duck's Eye)

Ap Chau Island, Hong Kong China http://www.geopark.gov.hk/tourism/ec03.htm
Excellent
50%
Good
50%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 2 reviews

Ap Chau Sea Arch (duck's Eye)

8. Cape D'Aguilar Marine Reserve

Cape D'aguilar Marine Reserve, Hong Kong China http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/country/cou_vis/cou_vis_mar/cou_vis_mar_des/cou_vis_mar_des_cap.html
Excellent
67%
Good
33%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 3 reviews

Cape D'Aguilar Marine Reserve

Reviewed By Mairwen1

This is a very beautiful marine reserve with craggy rock formations, sweeping coastal views and features, including unusual caves, the ‘Miss Willy’ whale skeleton, WWII military batteries and Hong Kong’s oldest lighthouse (see separate reviews). However, it is also an isolated spot and well off the beaten track. If you only have a few days in Hong Kong, then you will be too busy with other sights and this is too remote and too out of the way to include in an itinerary. Entry is free but to get there, you need to walk in. The bus will drop you off at the large roundabout which is where your walk starts. It is one of the easiest coastal trails and is a roughly 5 km gentle, downhill walk along Cape D'Aguilar Rd (the bad news is that you will have to walk back up again unless you are lucky enough to snag a taxi that has dropped someone else off). It’s not terribly well sign-posted. You can generally follow other hikers but basically stick to the road until you get to the radio transmitters. At this point, you take the dirt path on your left and circle around behind the station where you can pick up the road again to head downhill. Towards the end of your walk, the road splits but there is a large, blue sign at this point directing you down to the reserve. Make sure to take sunscreen, hats, water and food. The walk is quite exposed and if you go on a weekday, there are no opportunities to buy anything. You’ll also need good shoes because once you get to the reserve the rocks can be sharp and around the caves and water, it is quite slippery. The only public toilets that we saw were two porta-loos about 5 min into the walk. Be aware, that despite the beautiful waters and the hot walk to get here, you can’t jump in for a swim because it's a marine reserve. Instead, we took a taxi later in the day to Shek O beach for lunch and a cooling swim ($46HKD). GETTING THERE: It’s a long-ish but very straightforward trip from Central. A taxi or uber will take cut your travel time in half and can also save you some walking because it can take you part of the way down Cape D'Aguilar Rd. You should pay under $200HKD. We found public transport easy although it took about an hour. We caught the MTR to Shau Kei Wan. Exit A3 brought us right up at the bus bay and the #9 bus went right to the start of the walk. The only tricky part is to double-check that your bus stops at Cape D’Aguilar. Not all do. Some #9 buses go straight through to Shek O so don't get on unless the sign specifically says “via Cape D’Aguilar”.

9. Cham Keng Chau

Peng Chau, Hong Kong China
Excellent
0%
Good
100%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 2 reviews

Cham Keng Chau

10. Palm Cliff

Po Toi Country Trail Po Toi, Hong Kong China http://www.walkonhill.com/gallery_detail_en.php?id=38
Excellent
0%
Good
100%
Satisfactory
0%
Poor
0%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 1 reviews

Palm Cliff

ThingsTodoPost © 2018 - 2024 All rights reserved.