Lantau Trail, Long-distance trail on Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Lantau Trail is a 70-kilometre loop of twelve numbered stages that starts and finishes in Mui Wo, on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. It crosses Lantau Peak, Hong Kong's second-highest mountain, and runs past the main dam of Shek Pik Reservoir and several beaches. The photographed wooden gate with the signs "鳳凰徑" and "LANTAU TRAIL" stands over a flight of stone steps on the route.
The Lantau Trail opened on 4 December 1984, with a ceremony led by Li Tak-wang, then director of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, and Tsang Lin, vice-chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk. In 2008, after heavy rain on 7 June destabilised the ground, the fourth section was rerouted away from Muk Yue Shan and Lion Head and through Nei Lak Shan and Ngong Ping to Tai Fung Au, keeping its endpoints at Ngong Ping and Sham Wat Road.
The trail's name comes from Phoenix Mountain (Feng Huang Shan), Hong Kong's second-highest peak, which the route crosses. The annual Phoenix Walkathon, organised by the Hong Kong Ecotourism Society, once followed all 70 km of the trail before it was cancelled in the early 2000s. Section 7 crosses private land at Yi O, where access was officially closed from December 2013 amid controversy over an organic farm; the original route was open to pedestrians again as of October 2024.
Each of the twelve sections can be walked on its own, making it easy to plan a half-day or full-day outing without committing to the full route. The path is well marked, but higher sections can be exposed to wind and fog, so sturdy footwear is a good idea.
The trail's 140 distance posts run from L000 to L140, roughly every 500 metres, letting hikers pinpoint their position. Section 7 crosses private land at Yi O, where access was officially closed from December 2013; the original route was open to pedestrians again as of October 2024.
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