Despite the Lamma Island Hike not being much of a hike, it was actually one of the more enjoyable hikes I’ve done in a while. Like many “hikes” in Hong Kong, it’s not really a hike but more of a walk around some concert paths and up some stairs. Nevertheless, do this during summer when it’s 30 degrees and the sun is out, it can provide quite a work out and be much more difficult than it looks on paper.
I’ve been to Lamma Island quite a few times with Grobbler and we’ve walked around a bit (read about that here), always staying away from the main area where most people end up taking the Central to Lamma Island Ferry. Instead, we leave from Aberdeen which is faster and has way less people. This time was no different. It’s really nice taking the ferry from Aberdeen, there’s basically no tourists and leaving through the Aberdeen harbour is nice.
We got off at Mo Tat, but you can go to Sok Kwu Wan. From Mo Tat Wan, get off the ferry and walk around the beach just passed a restaurant called The Bay, turn left up the hill and follow the signs to Ling Kok Shan. Ling Kok Shan is only a few hundred metres high. For kids, around 5 yrs old, it’d be doable for them outside of summer, but might be a bit of a struggle in the summer. It’s straight up and you get some really nice views looking back towards Hong Kong Island and overlooking Shek Tai Wan.
Despite it being 33 degrees and the sun blazing down, it was reasonably pleasant. Will take you about 20-30 minutes to get to the top and the views from the top of this Lamma Island Hike are also really nice, possibly some of the best I’ve seen. There’s some nice big rocks you can take photos on (with our risk of falling off) and the best thing about Lamma Island Hike is that there’s very little people here.
We went on a Saturday morning, go the 8am ferry, so probably too early for most people. We saw two other people hiking up and that’s it. When you get to the top you head down, nothing steep and very easy going. You then have to decide if you want to walk over to Yung Shue Wan, which is the main part of Lamma Island, or head back around to Mo Tat or Sok Kwu Wan. We headed around to Sok Kwu Wan, had a bit of a walk through the town (village) and had a quick bite to eat.
There’s loads of seafood restaurants to choose from, some of them don’t open until 12 but you’ll find something that’s open before that time. Check the Lamma Island Ferry ferry times here. The whole hike took about 2 hrs going at a very leisurely pace and total distance was only about 6-7km, so basically suitable for anybody. Again if you do it in the middle of summer or heatwave, it’s quite hard work. Bring lots of water as there isn’t much available on the way.
She Tai Wan bay is very nice. The beach is a little dirty but there’s nobody here early morning and it’s a very pleasant way to spend a morning away from it all. The Lamma Island Hike isn’t something you do for a challenge, but if you’re feeling a bit lazy and just want some exercise, this is a perfect hike away from the crowds. It could have been it was too hot for most people, plus the fact the Cheng Chau Bun Festival was on, but even not considering those two facts, I don’t think this would get too busy early morning.
For more information about the Lamma Island Hike, contact us via email on our contact page or ask us a question on Twitter. For more things to do in Hong Kong, you can check out this page. Check out some more photos of the Lamma Island Hike below:
