Have you checked the other streams in the Badlands? Then go and try the third (and fourth) one. Not as fun but an interesting route anyhow.
- Beauty/fun: 6/10. Quite remote, so most surely with little people, if any. Clean water but with little flow. Significantly less than the aforementioned Gon Pak & Ha Pak Lai streams. Several small waterfalls + a big one. You end up in the less spectacular side of the HK’s desert. You might be able to go more into the rainy season, when it is, in general, too hot for the other two (we like to visit them in November to end up the stream season)
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 5.5/10. Rock scrambling around is simple. The exit is not very clear. Be careful on the path and stream down, sandy surface.
- Map (how to download to your phone)
See full screen and the Garmin track of a long exploration day including going up initially through Ling Ngau stream.
Transportation. Yuen Long MTR station. Walk to Tai Fung Street minibus stop.
Minibus 33 going to Ha Pak Lai (下白泥). In this case you will not go to the end of the line, but stop after Sheung Pak Nai next to the old high school basketball court or on the bathrooms just after. The way up is exactly here on your left.
Continue on the concrete, and then (pics below counterclockwise starting from the upper left) take the left road, left again and find your way through the bushes. It can be a faint path initially, but soon you should find a clearer one, even with some few ribbons.
Sandy path down and you will see Ling Ngau stream 靈鰲石澗.
You will see several old small water gathering constructions.
The stream below is not specially interesting. If you want to try though, I have marked on the map the lower alternative entrance. You might be in private property though.
Interesting looking quartz like rock waterfall upper.
More small waterfalls enroute.
Finally seeing a bit bigger ones.
Look behind and you will see “Fairy’s sofa”.
You have one early exit possible. But unless you are in an emergency you better continue up. In little time, arriving at the main waterfall.
Which has a nice pool below. You can climb it on both sides. If on the right, you will need to cross the waterfall itself right to left after 2/3. It is relatively simple. The left side was more used last time there (Nov 2019), with someone who had opened with a machete a clear path within the bushes.
Continue up the stream till you arrive at these rocks. The easiest way out that I found is here.
Follow the arrow direction into a small bamboo section. I built a little cairn + reset a ribbon within. Follow up slightly slippery faint path and you will connect with the main path above. The opencyclemaps has another exit marked, but I couldn’t find it (marked on red).
You could continue in the stream up. In rainy season it must have more water and you can find some more waterfalls.
But soon the slope decreases and it becomes a little creek with the vegetation getting closer and closer.
Bring pruning scissors and/or a machete, if you want to do this section. Not recommended, but for the most hardcore “I want to see it all”s.
In any case, you will arrive finally at the sandy clear main paths above with the views of Shenzhen down under.
You could take different paths. One is to go down Purple field stream (literal translation of the initial characters 紫田右澗). It is, most of the times, no more tan a thin creek.
But it has its charm.
And a high waterfall. Video going up.
You will end up in the city. Initially within low houses and small factories/business. The closest MTR station Siu Hong.
Everything you should know before stream hiking.
Any feedback, please, leave a comment below. Your contribution with the latest update can be relevant for other readers. If any information seems wrong we will try to check the route and update the information as soon as possible.
A lot more pics of exactly that route in this gohikinghk web.
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