Hong Kong Hong Kong – Scenic Hike through Lamma Island Travel to Hong Kong 5 (1)Lamma Island is an island located southwest of the main island of Hong Kong. And unlike Lantau, which is connected by a bridge to the main island, Lamma is only accessible by boat. It is a great island for walking around and seeing fishing villages a bit like Tai O. We took advantage of our second visit to Hong Kong after exploring the city to go and recharge our batteries in the countryside.I know the timing is not great regarding the release of this article. (given the current unrest) but it's been 6 months since I wrote it, it was time to broadcast. And then this allows you to get some fresh air away from the troubles, so it can always be useful! Summary hide How to get to Lamma Island What to do on Lamma Island Our walk on Lamma Island Lamma Island, a short conclusion How to get to Lamma IslandThere are 2 different ports to get to Lamma Island. Yung Shue Wan port, in the northwest of the island and Sok Kwu Wan towards the southeast of the island. The best part is that it means you don't have to retrace your steps to get off the island. You can therefore follow the path to the other end of the island without worrying about timing.Leaving Central.And in our case, we chose the option of leaving from Central and arriving north at Yung Shue Wan with the idea in mind. Once there, I quickly understood that it would be interesting to leave via Sok Kwu Wan in order to cross the island from one side to the other.Since it was a weekday, the fare was cheaper. We paid HK$17 per person one way from Central to Yung Shue Wan (you have the information and timetables here) for a journey lasting just 20 minutes.For variety, we didn't return directly via Central, but via Aberdeen, a major port in the south of the main island. We then paid $12 for a 35-minute journey via a small local boat between Sok Kwu Wan and Aberdeen (information and timetables here).Getting to Lamma Islandto summarizeCentral – Yung Shue Wan: $17 Monday to Saturday / $24 Sunday and public holidays. Sok Kwu Wan – Aberdeen: $12 Monday to Saturday / $18 Sunday and public holidays.What to do on Lamma IslandGiven the configuration of the island, there are no cars, so no road (well, yes, one, which connects the wind turbine to the power station, 1 km), but only paths which run through a good 3/4 of the island. (The most south-eastern part is apparently inaccessible.)At Yung Shue Wan port, upon arriving on the island.The main activity is then walking, while people come to stroll there to enjoy nature and a more peaceful atmosphere than in the city center. By following some of the paths, you can access beaches, sometimes inhabited, and sometimes not. (after, they are not beaches to die for either.)Our walk on Lamma IslandFirst point on arriving at the port, one cannot ignore the enormous chimneys which protrude from the power station which occupies this northern part of the island.It's a factory that runs on coal and gas, not the most "environmentally friendly" and visually not aesthetic at all, a shame to disfigure this little corner of nature like that. (and it's not the small wind turbine in the middle of the island that helps.)A floating island…The grey weather wasn't going to help me appreciate the scenery either. But you have to deal with it. After looking at the possibilities to see on the island via the information board in the village of Yung Shue Wan, we set off on the main trail heading towards the south of the island.To put it simply, we followed the path below rather than going up to Tai Peng village and then going back down.A map of Lamma Island.We passed through the main artery of Yung Shue Wan, mainly commercial, with its stalls of fruits and vegetables, meat, but also restaurants. It is very colorful thanks to the murals that we come across here and there, and there are not too many people, which is not to displease us.Before arriving at the first beach we came across, we were treated to a bit of greenery (that's what we were there for anyway), an appetizer before climbing a bit, a good part of the path being at the top of the island rather than below (which also means that we will only see 2 beaches out of the ten that the island has).On the main street of Yung Shue Wan village.The local butcher shop.Let's go for a walk.It's very green.So it's on the small beach of Hung Shing Ye. The setting is really not bad, if we ignore the view of the power station...We continue on our way, this time it climbs a little, in front of us, it's nature all around, we come across a smiley drawn on a rock. Behind us, the power station is still visible, we also see the village through which we arrived and we see it moving away like a goodbye since we won't come back there.Hung Shing Ye Beach.We can still see the power station.We continue the walk.Smile 🙂We come across a few people but it's really not crowded during the week. However, we come across a merchant standing there in the middle of nowhere to offer something to refresh us (which is not necessarily too much).We are in the middle of the island, surrounded by hills and coves below. Further away, we could see Sok Kwu Wan, our objective. We had been walking for an hour. We were about halfway there since we would reach the village an hour later.We follow the main path which is paved and well laid out.Still the view of the power station…We can still see the village of Yung Shue Wan on the horizon, where we arrived.An overview of Lamma Island.A merchant patiently waits for customers with his dog.Before that, I was curious to take a look at a fork in the path leading west, thinking I would have a view of the sea, but that was not the case, fortunately it was not a big detour (200 m).Just before going down the hill, a small pavilion on the left (Hilltop pavilion) gave a not too bad view of Sok Kwu Wan Bay. In the distance you can see the buildings of Repulse Bay while Aberdeen is hidden behind the hill where there is an amusement park.It almost feels like we're in the mountains 😉A view of the seaside to the west of the island.Quick photo stop for a souvenir (it's not like we were doing a lot of them with one of us in the photos).Let's see over there.That's all I would see if I followed this detour.From here you can see Repulse Bay and the amusement park.View overlooking the village of Sok Kwu Wan, towards the south of the island.Below, I see a sign indicating another beach, Lo So Shing Beach. Since we only saw one, I took this other fork towards the west of the island. We passed through a very quiet village, made up of a few houses.The beach is nice, but there again, inexorably, we see a bit of the power station that won't let go of us... It's calm and it's a weekday, however, as at every beach, a lifeguard is still there on his perch just in case...We cross a passage with a few houses.Nice decor.Lo So Shing Beach, southwest of the island.A view of Lo So Shing beach. It doesn't look too bad and almost makes you want to sit down and sunbathe (almost, because that's not really our thing).When there is no longer a beach, it is then rocks that give way to sand.I went to the end of the path where there are facilities for picnicking and enjoying the view. Then we turned around to go back to the village. We then went back to the other side of the island (not even 500 m wide at this point) in front of the kamikaze cave.This is said to have served as a hiding place for Japanese kamikazes during the Second World War. They hid boats there ready to ride them for suicide missions around Hong Kong.The kamikaze cave.The view over Aberdeen.We literally follow the seaside, there is a small beach also on this side just before the cave.The many flags flying on the boats.Do you see the bird of prey there?And there?The grey weather will not let up as we finally arrive at the village of Sok Kwu Wan, after a leisurely stroll of about 4 km (a little more if you count the small detours here and there). Birds of prey are circling in the sky as we reach the village temple, Tin Hau.A place of worship for sailors and fishermen who come to pray to the goddess of the seas, Tin Hau, for their safety and hope for a successful fishing trip, this, for 150 years (it does not look like it since it was renovated after a fire in 2005). I did not go inside, but you can see a specimen of oarfish, the longest bony fish in the world (reaching lengths between 5 and 10 m on average).Tin Hau Temple on Lamma Island.Facade of a house.Back to "civilization", we come across merchants, but especially restaurants, offering all sorts of seafood and fish specialties. If a big restaurant didn't inspire us much, we sat there on the terrace of a small restaurant at the water's edge, if only while waiting for the boat. It was 14 p.m., we were still hungry and the next boat to Aberdeen didn't leave until 15:40 p.m....After the coffee cocktail/quiet meal, we relaxed for a good hour before boarding the small boat making the trip to the main island. 35 minutes later, we arrived in Aberdeen and finished this trip on Lamma Island.It's not crowded but it's the main "street" of the village of Sok Kwu Wan.A large restaurant offering fish and seafood specialties.Our restaurant choice of the day.We can see the pavilion from which I took the overview of the village earlier.Here we are on the return boat. This one is much smaller than the ferry going there.We're starting to move away, goodbye Lamma.And hello Aberdeen!Lamma Island, a short conclusionIn summary, it was not a stunning day. The environment is beautiful, without being exceptional either. Once again, this power station and the weather which was not on our side did not help to fully appreciate the place.I still think it's nice to do, if only to have another view of Hong Kong, which is ultimately full of national parks and spaces dedicated to nature to take a breather and see things other than buildings clustered on hills.Enough to take a good invigorating walk, see peaceful beaches and still preserved villages.Did you like the article? Share it on Pinterest! Did you like the article? Vote on the article Note globale 5 / 5. Number of votes: 1 No votes yet. Be the first to rate this article! Did you like the article? Follow me on social media Activities and Adventures Île Point of view Hiking 0 0 Roman 25/12/2017
