Pat Sin Leng Hike is one of the most epic hikes you will ever come across when researching hikes in Hong Kong. The hiking trail got its name from the eight peaks in the mountain range, where each peak is named after an immortal figure in Chinese mythology.
There are several trails in Pat Sin Leng Country Park, but this is the most popular one. Most people want the full experience and hike across the mountain range via Wilson Trail Section 9 and end the hike at the peaks at Pat Sin Leng. And in this post, I will detail this exact hike so you can get the full hiking experience.
So if you are travelling solo in HK and want to explore a popular local hiking trail, then you must hike Pat Sin Leng trail, the 8 immortal hike in Hong Kong.
Related Post – 11 Off the Beaten Path Places in HK
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What you need to know before starting the Pat Sin Leng hike
Before you attempt the Pat Sin Leng hike, take a look at my Hong Kong solo travel guide and get an overview of HK first.
And here are a few additional tips for hiking Pat Sin Leng:
- The best time to hike in Pat Sing Leng Country Park is late autumn, winter and early spring. The trek is difficult and the trail is exposed almost the entire way, so I would not recommend hiking during summer.
- Make sure to bring enough water for a few hours of hiking. And sunscreen and other sun protection. The majority of the trail is exposed.
- Get an Octopus Card, a rechargeable smartcard for taking public transportation and use it to take the MTR to the start of Pat Sin Leng trail and take the minibus from Tai Mei Tuk. It costs $100HKD, but you can use $50 stored value and get your $50HKD refundable deposit when you leave HK.
How to hike Pat Sin Leng Hiking Trail
The best way to hike Pat Sin Leng is to start from Hok Tau Reservoir, on the west side of Pat Sin Leng Country Park. Then follow the Wilson Trail Section 9 trail and hike across the mountain ridge towards Pat Sin Leng and finish the hike by descending Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail towards Tai Mei Tuk.
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Duration: 5 hours
- Distance: 12km
- What to bring: hiking shoes, sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen), water, snacks, smartphone (for taking photos and navigation)
How to get to the start of the trail in Pat Sin Leng Country Park
First, take the MTR to Fanling Station and find Exit C. Then find the minibus terminal across the street and take minibus 52B.
The minibus goes all the way to Hok Tau Village, but you want to get off on Hok Tau Road, just before the minibus turns right to Hok Tau Village. There is a bus stop on Hok Tau Road near Hok Tau Wai Pavillion (see map). Tell the driver you want to get off at the bus stop.
- Minibus 52B: from Fanling Station, Exit C to Hok Tau Wai Pavilion
- Time: 30 minutes (every 20 – 30 minutes)
- Cost: $6.30 (cash or Octopus card)
- Check: 16seats website for more information
Walk to Wilson Trail Section 9 near Hok Tau Reservoir
It is a 28 minute walk from the bus stop to the start of the Pat Sin Leng trail (see route).
From the bus stop, walk east on Hok Tau Road. When you arrive at Hok Tau Reservoir, continue walking on Hok Tau Road by following the road on the left of the reservoir.
You will walk along the reservoir until you see a park on the left. Turn into the park and follow the trail and find the entrance. The entrance gate says “Hok Tau Reservoir Family Walk.”
Keep walking, and about five minutes into your hike, the path splits. Take the stairway on the left. This is Wilson Trail Section 9 and the start of Pat Sin Leng hiking trail.
Hike up Ping Fung Shan
Pat Sin Leng trail, which is also the Wilson Trail Section 9, starts with many stairs going up Ping Fung Shan, the first mountain along the mountain ridge.
At the fork of the road, take the path on the left. Then keep going up.
And it just keeps going up. There are many, many sets of stairs going up Ping Fung Shan. And the only way is up.
When you reach the top, the trail flattens out. And you will see several other trails merging into each other. As long as you follow the main trail and the trail signs for Pat Sin Leng, then you are going the right way.
Hike across the mountain range in Pak Sin Leng Country Park
Follow the path where it takes you up and down the hills along the mountain range in Pak Sin Leng Country Park.
And while you are hiking on the mountain range, take a look at the north side’s views. You can see Sha Tau Kok, Hong Kong’s northernmost rural closed village, on a clear day. And you can also see Starling Inlet, the small body of water next to the village.
Keep following the hiking trail as it will take you across the mountain ridge and all the way to the next peak, Wong Leng. Plus, you can see how high and steep the mountain is. If you are scared of heights, don’t look too long!
Panoramic views from Wong Leng
As you walk along the mountain ridge, you will reach Wong Leng, the tallest peak in Pat Sin Leng Country Park. At 639m, you can see an excellent view of Tai Po District, including Plover Cove, Tsz Shan Monastery, and Tolo Harbour.
And further to the east, you can see the long road or dam for Plover Cove Reservoir and the town immediately north to it, which is Tai Mei Tuk, which is your final destination for this hike.
And on a clear day, you can see as far as the mountain ranges in Sai Kung and Ma On Shan Country Park. There are many excellent trails there, including the challenging Ma On Shan hiking trail.
Approaching the Pat Sin Leng mountain range
The journey to Pat Sin Leng via Wilson Trail Section 9 is a long one, but a rewarding one. The hiking path itself is not difficult but it takes a bit of time. But the views along the way is definitely worthwhile.
Plus, you can see the entire mountain range when you look back at the trail you just completed. It is such a beautiful sight!
And when you start to ascend the steep stairway, you will be approaching the west end of the Pat Sin Leng mountain range.
Beginning of the Pat Sin Leng hike
After about 3 hours of hiking, you are finally at Pat Sin Leng!
I know you must be thinking, “Wow! That was a long hike to the actual start of the hike!”
Yes, I had the same thought. The whole time while I was hiking on Wilson Trail Section 9, I kept looking for the first signpost for the first peak in Pat Sin Leng. And it took much longer than I had anticipated.
However, it is all worth it! At Shun Yeung Fung, the first peak and the highest peak of the 8 immortal hiking trail, you can see several other peaks on Pat Sin Leng mountain range and the hiking trail connecting each peak.
Pat Sin Leng hike: trail condition
The entire Pat Sin Leng trail is a continuous stairway of many ups and downs. The entire way is mostly paved or has stone steps. If you have proper hiking shoes or even sneakers for this part of the trail, you should be just fine.
The 8 peaks of Pak Sin Leng
As mentioned before, Pat Sin Leng is named after eight supernatural entities from Chinese mythology. Each entity is represented by a mountain peak in the Pat Sin Leng mountain range.
Hence, there are eight peaks on Pat Sin Leng mountain range, each ranging from 489m to 590m. And at each peak, there is a signpost indicating the name of the peak and the elevation.
Just in case you are interested, here are the names for each of the 8 peaks from west to east:
- Shun Yeung Fung – named after Lu Tung Bin
- Chung Li Fung – named after Han Chung Li
- Kao Lao Fung – named after Cheung Kao Lao
- Kuai Li Fung – named after Teh Kuai Li
- Tsao Kau Fung – named after Tsao Kuok Kau
- Choi Wo Fung – named after Nam Choi Wo
- Sheung Tsz Fung – named after Han Sheung Tsz
- Hsien Ku Fung – named after Ho Hsien Ku
Views from Pat Sin Leng Country Park
I don’t know much about the mystical fairies of Pat Sin Leng nor do I know anything about Chinese mythology, but I absolutely enjoyed the panoramic views on all sides of Pat Sin Feng.
At any time on the hiking path, you can see Shau Tau Kok and Shenzhen, China to the north. And when you look south, you can see Plover Cove, Tolo Habour and even as far as Ma On Shan.
But what I find impressive about Pat Sin Leng trail is the panoramic views of the actual hike. When you look forward (east), you can clearly see the trail along the mountain’s ridge. And when you look back (west), you can see how far you’ve hiked and feel really accomplished on what you just did.
Truly, there are good views all around.
Last peak of the Pat Sin Leng route: the end of Wilson Trail Section 9
At the last peak, Hsien Ku Fung, there is a triangulation station and a viewing point. Take in all the views from all sides before you descend down the mountain.
And FYI, the Wilson Trail Section 9 ends and Wilson Trail Section 10 begins at this peak.
On the east edge of the last peak, you might be able to see the Plover Cove Reservoir Hiking Trail, which is a faint line on top of the mountain ridge in Plover Cove Country Park and circles around the reservoir. If you are into long and challenging hikes, this is the one to conquer!
And on a clear day, you can see Shenzen in China when you look northeast.
Hike down Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail to Tai Mei Tuk
When you are ready, follow the staircase and walk downhill. The downhill path is fairly easy as it is a set of wood and stone staircases. This part of the descend is Wilson Trail Section 10.
When you reach the junction, take the path on the right. This is the Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail. The linear path will take you all the way to Tai Mei Tuk, your final destination.
Spring Wind Pavilion at Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail
Since you are hiking from west to east, you will end the hiking day at the Spring Wind Pavilion along Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail. It has an excellent view of Tai Mei Tuk and an information board about the Pat Sin Leng trail.
The information board at the pavilion might be a bit more meaningful if you are hiking Pat Sin Leng from Tai Mei Tuk, i.e. from east to west. And in theory, you can start hiking from Tai Mei Tuk to the most western peak of Pat Sin Leng and hike back to Tai Mei Tuk.
But I highly recommend hiking the entire mountain range in Pat Sin Leng Country Park like how I described in this blog post. The hiking path is longer, but the views along the trail are worthy of your time and energy.
Returning home from Tai Mei Tuk
From the end of Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail, walk 20 minutes to Tai Mei Tuk Bus Terminus (see map) and catch the next 20C minibus. The minibus will take you to Tai Po Market MTR Station, the bus route’s last stop.
Bus 75K can also take you to Tai Po MTR Station but minibus is faster.
- Minibus 20C: from Tai Mei Tuk Bus Terminus to Tai Po Market MTR Station.
- Time: 25 mins (every 4 – 10 minutes)
- Cost: $7.70HKD (cash or Octopus card)
- Check: 16seats website for 20C for more info
Will you hike Pat Sing Leng while you are in Hong Kong?
Even though it is not a beginner’s hiking trail, Pat Sin Len is one of the most rewarding hikes in Hong Kong. If you are spending a few days in Hong Kong and want to get off the beaten path and hike somewhere where only locals go, definitely consider hiking Pat Sin Leng.
Let me know in the comments if you are going and if you have any questions.
Other HK hikes you might be interested:
- Victoria Peak Hike: See Hong Kong’s beautiful skyline
- High West: A short hike to see the Victoria Peak sunset
- Dragon’s Back Hike: the most popular day hike in HK
- Violet Hill and the Twins: hike over two mountains with over 1,000+ steps
- Rhino Rock Hike: see a rocky rhinoceros head in Stanley
- Pineapple Mountain: the Great Canyon of Hong Kong
- Lamma Island: hike from Sok Kwu Wan to Yung Shue Wan
- Red Incense Burner Summit on Braemar Hill: best spot for sunset and night views
- High Junk Peak: one of three sharpest peaks in HK
- Ma On Shan Hike: hike across the horse-saddle mountain to Sai Kung
- Mount Nicholson Hike: see hidden rock statues in the middle of HK Island
- Kowloon Peak and Suicide Cliff: See HK’s most dramatic cliff
- Po Pin Chau: hike around hexagonal rock columns in Sai Kung
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