Lei Yue Mun to Mau Wu Shan
Difficulty 4/5
If itâs your first hike, itâll be a struggle but worth it I think because it really catapulted my base fitness way up.
Incline & Decline 4/5
My biggest issue with the trail was how much going up and down there was. I mean I know itâs hiking, but was probably a bit too much for a rookie that hasnât gone hiking in ages. My legs were sore for quite a few days after.Â
IG worthy? 3/5
I know there are plenty of other hikes in Hong Kong that will give you gorgeous photos, but I gave it a solid 3/5 because the views with the concrete jungle and greenery is just awesome. It was quite gloomy so Iâm sure if you go on a nice & sunny day itâll be quite the photos. I prefer it cloudy anyway. Iâd rather be able to walk the trail, than have amazing photos for IG with sun.Â
# of hours
Took us a good 3-4 hours because we kept stopping... sorry.
Breakdown of the Hike
Did part of Wilson Trail Section 3 from Lei Yu Mun, but took a detour rather than staying on section 3. Detour took us to Mau Wu Shan instead of continuing to Ma Yau Tong which is where section 3 continues to.
If youâre a beginner hiker, like me, doing the entire Wilson Trail Section 3 will likely take you a while. Although we started at 9.45 am, by the time we were halfway it was already past 12 pm. We took it very slow, stopping quite frequently to take photos of the view... and because this couch potato couldnât keep going.
Getting to the trail is a hike in itself. A concrete hike.
From Yau Tong MTR station, it was took us about 15 minutes to get to the trail. This wasnât a flat walk on nice soft grass... no this was uphill in the middle of the concrete jungle that is Hong Kong. If youâre a couch potato like me, I guarantee youâll be tired before you even start the trail.
Even the âwalkâ (hike) to the start of Wilson trail had a decent view.Â
Honestly, by the time we reached the start of Wilson Trail Section 3, I was already exhausted. So we took a breather to look at the map of the trail.
*YOU ARE HERE* = Lei Yun Mun. Mau Wu Shan is about halfway on the right.Â
When you reach the top of the stairs, turn right --> Â
Otherwise youâll head towards Lam Tin.Â
Where we started Wilson Trail, it is actually quite pleasant. Itâs a concrete path (not ideal for your poor knees) but it did make it an easy warm up walk. Thereâs some slight potato couch friendly incline at times. Perfect for a beginner hiker! (âThis is wonderfulâ I thought to myself. Itâs like Iâm a hiker!)
Quite quickly, youâll stumble upon the sign that says âDevilâs Peakâ itâs a perfect stop for photos and to take a breather. Thereâs two options it seems, the first Devilâs Peak (Gough Battery) and the Top Battery Devilâs Peak. Iâm unsure of the difference, but we decided to ignore the first Devilâs Peak sign and continue walking to go up to the Top Battery instead.Â
When you get to the second option for the Devilâs Peak, itâll look like this. Quite a bit more intimidating than the concrete slope down where the first sign for Devilâs Peak. This is not for the faint, but a fun climb though to get started. Just make sure youâre not hiking in high heels...Â
View from Devilâs Peak
Heading back down from Devilâs Peak to continue on the trail. This is the main reason why I would not recommend going up to Devilâs Peak if you have issues with climbing, itâs steep climbing up but getting down is the difficult part, even for the well-balanced individuals.
Thankfully helpful hikers have set up ropes along the path. Otherwise youâd be flailing your arms like a crazy person trying to keep your balance.Â
Continuing to walk from Devilâs Peak towards Black Hill
Yes, thatâs all uphill (then downhill.) Final thoughts... itâs a wonderful hike, but honestly very intense for a first one... if you want to challenge yourself though - go for it! Just take short but frequent breaks to catch your breath.Â