A relatively easy stream with some flow most year long. Several nice waterfalls and pools with easy transportation start and end points.
- Beauty/fun: 6.5/10. Nothing spectacular, but fun to hike in. Three different sections with different water flows due to the channeling structures around. Several pools to dip in.
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 4.5/10. Very clear route. Few dense vegetation areas. Scrambling is clear and with ribbons to guide you.
- The map (how to download to your phone offline maps)
See full screen and Garmin track.
We did this stream just after the coasteering route from Pui O to Cheung Sha. Actually you can see the bottom of the stream getting into the beach.
While Summer was enjoying her sandwich, I went to explore this lower section.
Eh… A mess. Very flat and the vegetation got really dense in no time.
I could see that there was an easier start above the road. So just go up through a short faint path a little bit more West. Arrive at the the bus stop that would be the usual transportation option either from Tung Chung MTR or Mui Wo ferry. Next to the bridge go down to the stream.
This “first” section tends to have low flow as under the small dams above.
Nevertheless it had some water
even after two, three months of dry weather.
The biggest pool
that you can bypass easily on its right.
After heavy rain all this area looks way nicer.
The “finger board” rock, perfect for training your climbing skills.
Fun easy scrambling all around.
Arriving at the dam
and down to the stream again.
Man made
pool just some meters up.
Nice clean water in late December.
Some denser vegetation areas, but nothing unpleasant.
Nice pool and waterfall.
A twin waterfall just little after,
easiest climbed on their right.
And the final sizeable waterfall that
you can walk in.
Arriving at
the road
where we exited.
There is a third upper section connecting with the South Lantau Country Trail. Nothing specially interesting if I recall correctly and vegetation getting denser. We did not do it and just walked up to the bus stop on Pak Kung Au.
June 13, 2022 at 6:05 pm
In the maps this stream is called 鳳大南坑 (Phoenix Big South Stream). Perhaps a combination of 鳳 from Lantau Peak (鳳凰山, Phoenix Mountain) and 大 from Sunset Peak (大東山, Big East Mountain). Although if you ask me it clearly flows down from just Sunset Peak, not Lantau Peak. Strange.
Where did you find the name Tai Cheung Stream, if I may ask?
Lots of water there nowadays.
June 15, 2022 at 4:32 am
Hi Chris.
I saw that version of yours which made no sense for me too. It is among others in openstreetmaps.
I saw Tai Cheung in an old map of a friend of mine. I don’t know from where he got it, but makes more sense according to the usual nomenclature. The streams that comes down from Sunset Peak to Cheung Sha.
I guess tons of water these days everywhere with all the heavy rain. Enjoy! 😊
June 19, 2022 at 6:27 pm
I see!
BTW, the rather spectacular waterfalls in the middle of the first section consists of two streams merging, Tai Cheung / 鳳大南坑 coming from the North and the other one from the Northwest. The other stream is not on the map at all, so it has no name that I know of. The road that is 100 meters away crosses it. You could call it a tributary, but I think it has more water than Tai Cheung itself! I don’t know if it’s hikable, but I feel it deserves honorable mention.