Kai Kung Leng Hike: Where Hong Kong's Villages and Countryside Meet Shenzhen's Skyscrapers
Contents
- Essential Information
- Why Hike Kai Kung Leng?
- Google Route Map and GPX
- How to Get There
- Quick Route Summary
- Hiking to the TETRA Radio Station
- Getting to Kai Kung Leng Trigonometrical Station
- The final Uphill stretch
- The Downhill Section
- Getting Back
Kai Kung Leng Hike Details
- District: New Territories
- Duration: 3.5 hours. Expect it to take longer in the summer.
- Distance: 7.3km
- Highest Elevation: 585 meters
- Difficulty: 3.5/5
- Facilities: None on the hike, so use the toilet and stock up on food and water at Yuen Long MTR Station.
Why Hike Kai Kung Leng?
Kai Kung Leng (雞公嶺), or Rooster Ridge, is one of Hong Kong's less-frequented hikes. Unlike the popular coastal trails, this route showcases the serene rural landscape dotted with quaint village homes and clusters of skyscrapers near MTR stations. Some districts visible from Kai Kung Leng include Yuen Long, Nam Sang Wai and Sheung Shui.
From the trail, you can also peer into Shenzhen, China, where a veritable wall of skyscrapers contrasts sharply with the lush greenery of Hong Kong's countryside.
What truly makes this hike special is its unique terrain. As you reach the open sections, you'll feel like you're trekking through a grassy field, with a vibrant carpet of grass covering most of the mountain. You'll encounter intriguing clusters of trees and rocky outcrops perfect for climbing to catch even better views.
Keep an eye out for mountain bikers who also enjoy this trail. If you're an intermediate hiker seeking a less-traveled path, Kai Kung Leng is worth exploring. Just remember, there’s almost no shade, so it’s probably best to avoid this hike during the summer heat.
Google Route Map and GPX
How to Get to the Kai Kung Leng Hike Start Point
Take the MTR to Yuen Long Station and leave through Exit G. After taking the escalator down into the bus terminus, look to the top right and you’ll see a line of green minibus signs.
Head over to them and you’ll find the sign for the 603 Green Minibus. You’ll want to take the minibus all the way near the end of the line on Fung Kat Heung Road.
You can show the bus driver the following text to get off at the right spot: 鷄公嶺行山徑起點.
When you alight, look for the stairs that mark the beginning of the hike.
Quick Kai Kung Leng Hike Route Summary
- Take Exit G1 at Yuen Long MTR Station
- In the bus terminus, look for green minibus 603 and tell the bus driver you’d like to get off here: 鷄公嶺行山徑起點
- Climb the stairs with the signs flanking it and follow the trail upward for about 30-35 minutes until you reach the Kai Kung Leng TETRA Radio Base Station
- 15 minutes later, you’ll arrive at a trigonometrical station. You’ll see a ridge rising beside the trigonometrical station, which is where you’re going next
- After about 30-35 minutes of climbing, you’ll reach a rocky outcropping
- 20 minutes later, after more uphill climbing, you’ll reach the main Kai Kung Leng Trigonometrical Point
- There’s a little more uphill after this and then the LONG descent begins
- The downhill takes about an hour and a half to complete
- Near the bottom (just after the “Hiking Safety in Kai Kung Leng” sign, you’ll see a fork in the trail. Head right where the ribbons mark the way
- You’ll traverse through an overgrown section of the trail before arriving at a flat section. Turn left on the concrete path and take the stairs downward
- Take the bridge across the little water catchment area and head under the massive yellow pipe before emerging at Fan Kam Road
- Head right and you will find two bus stops. The closest one goes back to Yuen Long, which takes a long time. The further bus stop goes to Sheung Shui. Take the 77k double decker bus or the number 18 red minibus back to Yuen Long or to Sheung Shui MTR Station.
Start Point to the Kai Kung Leng TETRA Radio Station
This section takes between 30 and 40 minutes depending on your speed. The good thing is that it's pretty much impossible to get lost since you'll be following the trail all the way to the Kai Kung Leng TETRA Radio Tower.
You'll get amazing views of some of Hong Kong's rural farm areas, as well as a really intriguing view of the wall of skyscrapers that demark Shenzhen across the border.
There's also a little set of stairs just before you reach the tower. Climb them to get epic views of the surrounding area!
Getting to Kai Kung Leng Trigonometrical Station
Climbing up from the tower to the Kai Kung trigonometrical station takes just over an hour to complete. You'll find several steep sections of climbing along the way and even one smaller trigonometrical station just past the tower.
The mountain ridge really opens up during this period of hiking and you'll be able to enjoy just how wonderfully strange the terrain is here. I found the vibrant green of the grass by the trail to be super intriguing because of its sharp contrast with the brown grass that covered the rest of the mountain in this section of the trail.
Eventually, you'll arrive at the Kai Kung Leng trigonometrical station. The toughest climbs of the hike are over by this point.
The final Uphill stretch before the downhill
It only takes 10 minutes to climb to this peak from the trigonometrical point. Enjoy the views!
The Long, Arduous, Torturous Downhill
This downhill section takes well over an hour and is really brutal. If you have sore knees, I'd highly advise bringing some kind of hiking poles or just avoiding this hike in general. If you're ready to take on the challenge (if you're at Kai Kung Leng peak, you kinda have no choice), let's go!
You'll basically be following a really sharply declining dusty trail all the way down to a little grouping of trees. Be careful where you step as there are loads of loose rocks and slippery patches.
Once you reach the trees, look for the fork in the road a short way later and take the ribboned path to the right.
Head down some stairs, cross a little catchwater area, head under a monster yellow pipe, and you'll emerge at Fan Kam Road!
Getting Back
Once you arrive at Fan Kam Road, turn right and you'll see a bus stop on the opposite side of the road. You can catch the 77k double decker bus from here or the number 18 red minibus back to Yuen Long.
Walking ahead a few minutes will take you to another bus stop on the same side of the road as you ended the hike on. You can also catch the same two buses here, but they will go toward Sheung Shui, which is much closer.
