圓墩北坑 Yuen Tun North Creek is a small one but with very pretty high waterfalls. Good to combine with some other fun spots around.
- Beauty/fun: 5/10 very picturesque waterfalls, but not the cleanest water, short, and relatively far from public transportation.
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 4.5/10 if using the side paths and starting from the road without bushwalking. 7/10 if going for more tricky options (dense bush walk and mainly really high scrambling).
- The map (how to download to your phone offline maps) this creek is Northernmost light blue which ends in the Tai Lam Chung Reservoir.
See full screen & the Garmin track the first time checking it (after being on the slabs) & the second day after Yuen Tun West Creek.
The first time I checked the stream I wanted to do it all starting from the bottom. For that, I went down next to this maintenance staircase.
But the connection with the stream was a bushy mess and quite time-consuming. Therefore the next time with Alexa & Matías, after scrambling the West Creek, we went through the maintenance road directly to the stream. Down here.
Video.
The side road takes you to one of the portals (#86) of the water channeling tunnels in the area. Bad-smelling water coming from it. Nevertheless, we went downstream to check the nice-looking waterfalls below heading to the reservoir (0:09).
And up again passing next to the portal (0:44). This time we found ribbons guiding to the left tributary (0:56). It has significantly less flow, but we gave it a try. Thin uninteresting stream until you arrive at the high waterfall (1:07).
You need to climb in the first 2-3m fall section and then decide if you feel comfortable with the high scramble on the left side (1:14) of the high waterfall.
Matías was. Up and in no time on the road above. Alexa was not sure, there is a couple of meters completely exposed section. So just in case, I set up my thin rope so she could descend those 3m and we took the right side path, marked with ribbons (1:19). Slightly sandy slippery scramble initially. Bush walk after.
Matías, because of the heat or else, was not feeling great and we left him resting while we looped again through the right tributary. Which I really like. A high waterfall with a pool under (1:37).
And an even nicer one just a little bit later (2:11). You can scramble up on the right side of them, as close or far from the water as you feel comfortable. Alexa again bush walked out to the road, while I connected back on top of the fall (2:41). Passing under this bridge.
The stream continues up. But it gets flat and with denser vegetation very fast, with nothing especially interesting. So I didn’t bring Alexa on. Instead we “did some laundry” (removing the dirt & sand from our clothes and shoes) and we went down the road crossing the jails under.
There is a minibus stop there, but few come regularly. You might better walk to the Tuen Mun Road Bus Interchange (Kowloon Bound) with continuous buses going to various destinations.
If you would want to go to To Hang Tung West creek 桃坑峒西坑 and the To Hang Tung slabs from here, you could use the water channeling tunnel as a shortcut.
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