Hong Kong Island: the Peak & the Northwest - Hong Kong - page 184

TOP SIGHT
VICTORIA PEAK
Standing at 552m, Victoria Peak is the highest point on Hong Kong Island.
The Peak is also one of the most visited spots by tourists in Hong Kong, and
it's not hard to see why. Sweeping views of the vibrant metropolis, verdant
woods, easy but spectacular walks - all reachable in just eight minutes from
Central by Hong Kong's earliest form of transport.
The best way to reach the Peak is by the 125-year-old gravity-defying Peak Tram ( MAP
GOOGLE MAP ; 2522 0922; www.thepeak.com.hk ;Lower Terminus 33 Garden Rd, Central;one-way/
return adult HK$28/40, seniors over 65 & child 3-11yr HK$11/18; 7am-midnight) . Rising almost
vertically above the high-rises nearby, Asia's oldest funicular clanks its way up the hillside
to finish at the Peak Tower ( GOOGLE MAP ; 2849 0668;128 Peak Rd; 10am-11pm Mon-Fri,
8am-11pm Sat, Sun & public holidays; Peak Tram) . The lower terminus in Central has an inter-
esting gallery that houses a replica of the earliest carriage. The Peak Galleria (
GOOGLE MAP ;118 Peak Rd; 15, alight at the stop btwn Stubbs Rd & Peak Rd) , adjoining the
anvil-shaped Peak Tower, has an admission-free viewing deck.
Some 500m to the northwest of the upper terminus, up steep Mt Austin Rd, is the site of
the old governor's summer lodge, which was burned to the ground by Japanese soldiers dur-
ing WWII. The beautiful gardens remain, however, and have been refurbished with faux-
Victorian gazebos and stone pillars. They are open to the public.
The dappled Morning Trail , a 3.5km circuit formed by Harlech Rd on the south, just out-
side the Peak Lookout , and Lugard Rd on the northern slope which it runs into, takes about
45 minutes to cover. A further 2km along Peak Rd will lead you to Pok Fu Lam Reservoir
Rd. Hatton Rd, reachable by Lugard or Harlech Rds, on the western slope goes all the way
down to the University of Hong Kong. The 50km Hong Kong Trail also starts on the Peak.