Imagine Ng Tung Chai but steeper, with no “civilized” paths or people and more waterfalls. That’s Dai Sek or Tai Shek. Dangerous though.

  • Beauty/fun: 8/10 Tons of waterfalls concatenated within the virgin jungle, ending almost on the top of Tai Mo Shan, i.e. the highest point in Hong Kong.
  • Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 10/10 This can be really dangerous if you don’t know where are you heading to and be prepared. There has been several fatal accidents here. Very steep. Loose rocks everywhere, even half broken trees. You will need to climb almost perpendicular walls, holding roots and tree trunks. Check your steps carefully. There are ribbons but some take you to non necessarily perilous parts, choose wisely…
  • Map (how to download to your phone)

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The stream has two sections. The bottom one is less steep and therefore the waterfalls are smaller. Vegetation can grow rapidly and with no many hikers around, you might find some overgrown spots. The second section is way steeper and where all the real action is. I found a relatively clear entry and from there is where we have hiked lately.

The start is next to Route Twisk. You could arrive at it with public transportation (Shek Kong Village bus stop). But takes quite some time and usually we shorten it by going to Kam Sheung road MTR station and taxi from there. Ask the driver to let you down at the bus stop or he will have difficulties stopping further up. Walk carefully on the side of the road, there is no much space and people like to ride fast here.

In the almost hairpin turn try to find the entry in the bushes (brown line). I went with the machete some time ago and it seems some more people have used the same “path” since. It’s a bit steep downhill for a few meters and you will get to the stream itself.

Since then onwards follow the stream up among the waterfalls. You will see ribbons right and left. I have followed most and some will take you to really dangerous areas. The rocks are very loose frequently, ready to fall as soon as you pull or step too hard on them. Helmet highly recommended, at least for those in the rear. Trees can be partly rotten, so check too before trusting your weight on them. In several areas, roots will be your best grab points.

Near the high waterfalls you will find ribbons in the cliffs around or just some meters beforehand. Each type/color set by different groups that hiked the stream before. Some they even set ropes that are going to be in different rotting states (beware!) Some of those hikers were trying to avoid heights as much as possible and their ribbons will take you to areas like this one.

You are still on the good track… But don’t get to far from the water sound. I prefer to climb closer to the stream itself, but I have never been able to do it 100% with the closest options possible. Even with ropes with us, it did not look safe enough and we detoured through the Western (right side) forest a bit. Videos and photos of the day.

I have needed to cancel the ascent midway several times with seasoned hikers not being able to continue and exits were tough… If possible do it on the Western side. The vegetation is a bit less dense there and you should be able to get to the road faster. Eastside exit is really tough. There is an ancient path going up through old rice paddies, somehow parallel to the stream. You might even find some old ribbons. But the vegetation was extremely dense (June 2017) and going up to the top required a huge effort. Even if it doesn’t look so in the picture.

Therefore I highly recommend to continue next to the stream. Little by little the water flow will diminish. Small boulder climbing area. Grass later and you will get to almost the top of Tai Mo  Shan.

From here onwards you could (recommendations from easier to more difficult)
a) go up the concrete route and follow MacLehose path to Road Twisk again (purple line)
b) go down through Ng Tung Chai waterfalls path (green line)
c) Tai Shing stream or several others.

I took hkoutsider to check the canyoning potential there and he liked it. More info to come.