I have written about this iconic area several times. I have been asked further details, so here all the main variants that you can hike.
- Beauty/fun: 7/10. Spectacular views up to the second highest peak in Hong Kong.
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 5/10 All the routes are steep, on more or less sandy/rocky surfaces. There is one point, the Lifeline, that can be tricky for those with extreme vertigo. There might be quite some people, in peak hiking season, and ribbons in Mid and West routes. 6/10 difficulty for Solitary Tree: more scrambling required + significantly less hiked so far.
- The map (how to download to your phone offline maps)
See full screen and the Garmin track of a training day power hiking and running on my own most of them and back to Tung Chung.
The routes starting from the Easternmost and clockwise.
East East Dog’s Tooth or Numb Dog (brown line). You can take bus up till Tong Fuk village. Walk up Ma Po Ping road and just above the prison you will find these stairs next to the water catch.
Just few meters up you will find the start of the dirt path on your right, with quite some ribbons (Jan 2020).
Initially, you will be walking within the short forest. But in little time you will be above the tree line.
Seeing the village and sea below and the hills above. The way up is steady until you arrive at the connection with the East and little later Mid Dog’s Tooth paths here.
In the middle you can see some hikers going to the top of Tiger Roar river rock.
East Dog’s Tooth (yellow line) itself is very similar to the first. With slightly better views as you are able to see more clearly the path that you have in front.
For Mid Dog’s Tooth (purple line, my favorite) the starting bus stop would be further West, just before the reservoir dam. Walk on the roadside and then enter into the Lantau Shek Pik country trail, green line.
Most of it is a dirt path but there are several stairs sections.
Eventually you will arrive at the entrance of the “off path”. Now a lot easier to spot with the Danger sign.
Soon you will go above the vegetation and you will start seeing the reservoir below.
There are still some bushy areas further up.
The route is mainly upwards in a clear path.
Arriving at a steep “technical” section.
Not really 😛 But you might need to use your hands and here the vertigo problems can start…
The trickiest part of the Dog’s teeth is this little downhill, called the Life line (一線生機).
Now (Dec 2019) it has a weak chain attached to its wall.
Be careful and do not trust it much. For years we passed this little section without any help. It can be tricky though for those with vertigo as there is a clear fall on your right when going down.
Just after you connect with West Dog’s Tooth here.
You can continue “hiking” in the Google maps above on a foggy day. Quite common up there. In this case was a bit hazy but OK.
Soon you will see the Big Buddha and the huge bridge connecting with Macau.
If you continue up you will arrive at a quite particular rock structure.
The Bird Rock. Which marks your way down towards the cliffs going to South Heaven’s Gate.
The video with everything you will see and some nice drone footage (some of the path towards South Heaven’s included):
Continue a bit higher and you will arrive at the connection with Lantau trail exactly here, coming from behind the red sign. From where you can decide to go down to Ngong Ping or up to Lantau Peak and down to the road in Pak Kung Au.
The start of West Dog’s Tooth path (my second favorite) is clear too with the Danger signs and the Chinese characters.
This start is significantly higher than the previous and therefore you will be rock scrambling earlier here.
This route has also spectacular views.
Between Mid & West paths you can see West Kau Nga Hang rock river.
After the connection, the route is the same same as all the previous.
If you continue up the Shek Pik country trail, also called Bernacchi Trail (?), the aforementioned green line.
Around this area you will find the start of the Solitary Tree Slope path (orange line).
Not specially clear. Just few meters above the previous pic, there were ropes to “help” you moving up. As always, check if they are safe to use before trusting your weight on them. The path is steep and a bit sandy, but doable without using them.
The path is slightly less impressive.
Some short scrambling and forested areas until you arrive at the solitary trees with the Buddha further down.
Supposedly there is a perpendicular path that allows you to connect with the main Lantau trail path, but I was not able to find it (jan 2020). Too overgrown.
Moving forward you are mainly hiking on dirt path, grassy terrain. The connection with the main Dog’s Tooth path.
And continue as all the previous.
What would be my preferred route for a group of experienced hikers in a longer day? Start from East Shui Hau village, go up through Tiger Roar rock river, continue on the Mid Dog’s Tooth to the Bird Rock, turn East and continue on the South Phoenix path and connect with the Lantau trail next to the Skylight rock. If you want to go even longer add North Heaven’s Gate area.
For tons of other adventures check the map and routes.
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.
3 Pingbacks