Sai Kung East country park has some of the best beaches in Hong Kong + Sharp Peak + some interesting bush walk and coasteering.

  • Beauty/fun: 6.5/10. Sharp Peak is, in a good visibility day, spectacular. Long Ke and Tai Long Wan might be the nicest beaches in Hong Kong. The coasteering proposed here is kind of easy but still interesting. And some of the points visited add for the beauty part if you are OK with some bushwalking
  • Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 4/10. Mainly derived from the length and remoteness of some parts of the route. Almost 30 km that you could do in one day, partly trail running, or more leisurely with camping one night in the middle. Bushwalking can be dense, above all during and just after the rainy season. Sharp Peak has steep slopes and with sandy surface. You will need good lugged shoes.
  • Map


See full screen & the Garmin track.

Usual public transportation would require arriving at Sai Kung (minibuses departing from MongKok, Choi Hung or Hang Hau). Then you can take bus going to Wong Shek Pier and get down in Pak Tam Chung. Green taxi from there till the East dam of the High Island reservoir. Long route but worthy.

The taxi will leave you next to this pergola and bathrooms.

Quite some people come here just to visit the rocks in the shore around. But in this case, the route is long enough, so not included. Head through the civilized path, following the MacLehose trail (stage 2). In twenty minutes time you will see the first of the beaches.

Long Ke might have the lightest sand in Hong Kong. There is nothing here but the beach, usually clean water, a rehabilitation center and campers who need to bring all with them.

In the northernmost point you will find several ribbons going up the hill. Around here.

The way to arrive at Long Ke Tsai.

Same turquoise colored water, but not so clean sand. From there we decided to continue South East direction. You can hide your backpack somewhere around the path as you will come back the same way.

Finally you will get to see Conic island in front and nice rock formations.

Head back North and little by little the vegetation will get thicker.

The ribbons and GPS track should suffice to find your way easily, although with some scratches if you haven’t brought enough protection (gloves, long sleeves…). After a longish uphill, slowed by the bushes, you will connect back with the MacLehose trail. Here with the sign that shows you all the beaches and the hill to visit: SaiWan, HamTin, TaiWan, and Sharp Peak.

Continue on the easy path and after a steep concrete downhill you will arrive at Sai Wan beach. You have several restaurants here and also the possibility to take a boat back to Sai Kung town. Continue walking. Cross all the Northern beach on the sand (unless you want to visit the waterfalls and stream around) and find your way up to the stairs

that will lead you in twenty minutes to the lookout just above Ham Tin.

From here you could clearly see again Sharp Peak. Down you can find two restaurants, which again offer boat services back to town. Also surfboards, kayaks, umbrellas and camping gear. When I went there the first time, long years ago, only On Kee Store was open and since then I have been using their services. OKla “cha chaan teng” style food, Triton good enough camping tents (HKD150 Dec2017) and others. Call them beforehand if going in peak camping months (can get crowded and some of their stuff fully booked).

In our case, we usually avoid camping in Ham Tin. There are quite some more campers there or quite nosy wild boards when no one around. Going to Tai Wan, through the little hill (there is an alternative flat route behind the sand dune).

Best surfing spot in Hong Kong. Wake up with the sunrise

and continue on our way.

Leaving the beach behind

up to Sharp Peak.

There are different routes. The one marked on the map above is the one I like the most. The views from the top are outstanding.

You could end up from here. I have put a purple line also on a map: an exit to Chek Keng pier. In our case, we wanted to continue the exploration so going down the Eastern side instead.

Also steep and slippery, so be careful.

Cows the main inhabitants here.

You could continue towards Tai Long Tau, the Easternmost point in the peninsula. Or go, as we did, to Mai Fan Tsui.

For coasteering the Shore of the Thousand Creeks.

I marked on the map the best starting point for it. The path tried was extremely bushy and required quite a fight to hike. The shore itself is easy. It can have quite some trash, including even a boat left behind…

If you want to keep dry you will need to scramble a bit, but relatively low level.

There are very interesting rocks and in rainy season tons of creeks running down from Sharp Peak.

Check tide and wave forecast before heading here. It is not as exposed as Tai Long Wan (which means Big Wave Bay), but it can get choppy.

Arriving at Nam She beach.

Views of Sharp Peak from the NW.

On the opposite side of the beach you can find ribbons guiding you towards Ko Lau Wan. Most of the way you will be next to the water system pipeline.

Cross to the West coast of the upper peninsula and you will arrive at the pier.

The Tap Mun (Grass Island) ferry stops here on its way to Wong Shek pier. From where to start your way back home.

Update Nov2022: Joan wanted to hike just the classic ascent to Sharp Peak. So there we went. Video

& the Garmin track.