The Morning Trail, High West and The Peak: Incredible City and Ocean Views

Kamal Mirwani

Published

August 27, 2024

Type: Historical/Cultural

Type: City Views

Difficulty: Medium

District: Hong Kong Island

Essential Information
Hike Highlights
Google Route Map and GPX
How to Get There
Quick Route Summary
From HKU Station to the Hike Start Point
The Morning Trail
Climbing High West
High West Sunset Views
From the Pavilion to The Peak
The Peak Back Down to HKU (Best City Views)
Getting Back

Essential Kowloon Reservoir Hike Details

District: Hong Kong Island
Duration: 3.5 hours (from HKU station up to High West, to The Peak and back down to HKU Station). 1 hour 50 minutes without the return trip down from The Peak
Distance: 11km (from HKU station up to High West, to The Peak and back down to HKU Station). 5.6km if you end at The Peak
Highest Elevation: 494 meters
Difficulty: 2.5/5
Facilities: Toilets available on the Morning Trail. Shops, toilets all available at The Peak

Why Hike The Morning Trail, High West and The Peak?

You'll be privy to some genuinely EPIC views out to the South China Sea from High West

On the flip side, you'll get to see Hong Kong's iconic skyline from far less crowded vantage points!

You might spot cute wildlife on the way up, like this little squirrel

There are also some mysterious abandoned structures on the way up

There are also some incredible, mysterious abandoned structures on the way up

However, the best part of the hike by far...

Are the incredible vistas over the city and beyond!

You definitely want to do this hike a bit later in the day since the city views are best at night

This hike is incredibly flexible in that there are several different ways to tackle it. The route I've chosen combines the best views in as logical of a manner as possible, but the guide will detail how you can change up the formula so you are guaranteed to see the scenery you're interested in.

It's worth noting that this hike is a bit steep from the get go and will definitely provide a solid cardio workout. The climb up to High West, especially, can be quite taxing on the knees, so keep that in mind when planning your hiking trip.

Apart from that, this is one of those hikes that's really safe and has people coming up and down it even at night. If you're looking for a slightly more challenging hike where you won't feel isolated or out of your depth, this could be the one for you.

Besides, the effort you put in will be greatly rewarded, especially if you end up starting an hour or so before sunset and getting to the top of High West just as the sun hits the horizon. The views across the ocean are just breathtaking (as are the stairs!)

Google Route Map and GPX

I've split this hike into two separate parts since some people might want to end up at The Peak.

HKU Station to High West and The Peak GPX

The Peak to the Best Viewpoint back to HKU GPX

In the Google Map below, the red line is the starting route from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) to High West and ending at The Peak.

The blue line continues from The Peak to the epic city viewpoint and shows the way back down to HKU (mostly the same as the way up).

*Please note that the sections of the below map that go through HKU are a bit wonky since my watch doesn't track moving indoors very well. You'll want to go through HKU and end up on University Drive. I will include detailed image instructions later in the guide.

How to Get to the High West and Peak Hike Start Point

Take the MTR to HKU Station and leave through Exit C1. The hike guide starts from right outside the station.

Quick Route Summary

Take the MTR to HKU Station and leave through Exit C1
Head through HKU and exit at University Drive
Take the set of stairs on Kotewall Road to connect directly to Hatton Road
Follow Hatton Road until you see a "Morning Trail" sign
Follow the Morning Trail (technically also Hatton Road) all the way up until you arrive at a little pavilion with a lot of signs around it (Harlech Road)
If you're going to High West, follow the sign pointing to High West and take the epic staircase up to its summit
Return back to the pavilion and then follow the sign that says "Peak Tram Station 1/2 Hr"
Optionally, if you don't want to do the return trip, follow the sign that says "Peak Tram Station 3/4 Hr" to take a slightly longer route to The Peak that goes past the best city views
Once you arrive at The Peak (if you want to continue back down), look for the "Hong Kong Trail" sign under the "Lugard Road" sign
Follow that trail to go past some incredible city views. You'll eventually reach the pavilion again (Harlach Road)
At the pavilion, follow the sign pointing to "PINEWOOD BATTERY Via Hatton Road"
When you see the "Hatton Road" road sign, follow that road all the way back down to HKU (it's the same Morning Trail route you came up from)

From HKU Station to the Hike Start Point

Take the MTR to HKU Station ride the elevator up to ground level at Exit C1

Make sure you press G on the elevator and get off at Pok Fu Lam Road

At Pok Fu Lam Road, Go straight toward the bus stop and flyover

Take the escalator up that's just beside the bus stop

Head into the University of Hong Kong campus

Take another escalator upwards within the campus

Walk through the Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre

Follow the long corridor that leads outside

Head straight once you're outside

Go through this little opening in the brick wall. Sorry for the blurry photo

This is what the little brick opening looks like as you go through it

You will emerge on University Drive. Follow the road upward

It's a bit steep and annoying, but you'll be at the start point soon!

At the end of University Drive, look for this set of stairs and take them to reach Hatton Road

Head right on Hatton Road and follow it as it slopes upward

The trail officially begins where cars and bikes aren't allowed to continue!

Getting to the start point is a little confusing, but basically, you'll want to get the elevator to Pok Fu Lam Road via HKU Station Exit C1.

After entering the HKU campus, get to the outdoor area and head through the little corridor in the brick wall.

Follow university drive to its conclusion and take the stairs you see right after that to reach Hatton Road.

The trail is easy from this point on as you will simply follow Hatton Road as it gently slopes upward.

The Morning Trail

You'll soon spot your first Morning Trail sign. From this point on, just keep following the road upward

Pretty close to where the trail starts, you'll see the abandoned Ching Yuen Garden

It's still unclear what Ching Yuen Garden was used for. I've read accounts of it being part of the Pinewood Battery, an artist's old home, an agricultural site and even a malaria and disease headquarters!

You might see a few baby waterfalls on the way up

You'll pass by several Morning Trail signs to let you know you're going the right way

Before long, you'll get a glimpse of the Hong Kong skyline below

At the fork, keep going straight and follow the sign pointing up to The Peak

A few wonderful city views for your effort!

Unless you fancy a detour, stay on the path and ignore the heritage trail

The trees here are pretty majestic!

This cute little squirrel dude seems to agree that these are some primo trees

Beside the public toilet, follow the sign pointing to The Peak

This is the pavilion where you can choose where to go next. Apologies for the blurry picture

This entire section is just one long concrete road up to the pavilion in the above image. It took me about 30 minutes from the bottom of the trail to the pavilion. Your timing may vary.

Once you're at the pavilion, you can choose to follow the signs directly to The Peak, or head up to High West.

If you want to end your hike at the peak, follow the sign pointing to The Peak that says 3/4 hr. This route takes you past the best city views.

If you're continuing on to High West, the next section explains how to climb it in detail.

Climbing High West

Beside the pavilion, you'll see a sign pointing you toward High West. Follow it

A few seconds later, you'll arrive at another High West sign

Follow this awesome little trail

Take the concrete path that turns to the right when you arrive at the abandoned stone hut thingy

Head left once you reach this clearing

Get ready for a BIG, STEEP CLIMB

There are markers on the way up to let you know how far you've made it

Half way there!

You do get a really sweet reward around the half way mark!

Nearly there!

The stairs will start to level out near the top

You'll have views of Lamma Island to your left

While the city will appear on your right

I think this is the only hiking signage in Hong Kong that also includes the date and year

Keep going forward until you reach the High West Marker

The climb to High West isn't long in terms of time taken, but boy is it steep. If you're a cardio fiend like me, it's an absolute joy to climb, especially with all the stunning views you get on the way up.

If you hate cardio, just know you're suffering like this to experience one of Hong Kong's most spectacular sunset spots!

The climb took me about 15 minutes from the pavilion.

High West Sunset Views

I honestly prefer this view to the typical city views

Not that there's anything wrong with a bird's eye view of one of the most incredible cities in the world!

High West gives you unspoiled island views to the left

Contrasted with expansive city views to the right

Once you've enjoyed some brilliant sunset views up on High West, make your way back to the pavilion so that you can begin the journey to The Peak.

Don't worry, it's completely flat.

From the Pavilion to The Peak

Two options to The Peak. If you will end your hike at The Peak, take the longer 45-min path to The Peak Tram Station as it has the best city views. Otherwise, take the shorter 30-min path

If you will end your hike at The Peak, take the longer 45-min path to The Peak Tram Station as it has the best city views that you won't want to miss

If you plan on doing the full route, take the shorter 1/2 hour route since we'll loop back round later for the epic city views

It was already getting dark by the time I took this path back to The Peak

The path is pretty well lit, so you won't have too much trouble navigating it. It's also completely flat

This little gecko had some amazing camouflage

You'll head past a little waterfall along the way

There are a few Morning Trail signs as you make your way to The Peak

And before you know it, you'll be at The Peak surrounded by throngs of tourists

You can end your hike here as there are buses, taxis and even the Peak Tram that can take you back down to the city

*If you plan to end your hike at The Peak, remember to take the longer route once you make it back to the pavilion. You'll see two signs pointing in opposite directions to "The Peak Tram Station". Take the 45-min route for the city views and to end your hike at The Peak.

For those completing the full hike, take the 30-min route.

This part of the trail is very gentle and doesn't have much in the way of epic views or technical climbing.

Once you arrive at The Peak, which took me closer to 20 minutes than 30 minutes, you can end the hike at this point. However, if you haven't checked out the section of the hike with the best city views, I would highly recommend doing that section before ending.

The Peak Back Down to HKU (Best City Views)

Directly opposite where the previous section ended, you'll see a Hong Kong Trail sign under a Lugard Road street sign. Head along the Hong Kong Trail

Similar to the previous section, this part of the trail is also flat and lit by street lights

5 mins after that first city viewpoint, you'll arrive at the best city viewpoint of the whole hike

After about 10-15 minutes, you'll arrive at the best city viewpoint of the whole hike

My phone camera couldn't really do justice to how amazing the view was

Continue along the path for a bit after admiring the views

You'll then arrive at another awesome city viewpoint

There's something about the Hong Kong skyline at night that's just awe inspiring to look at. I can hardly believe that this was just a fishing village some 120 years ago

Surprisingly, this was one of my favorite views of the whole hike!

Unlike the views you get from The Peak, you'll also be able to appreciate other parts of the skyline while on this trail

After this point, the city views end, but there's one more fantastic surprise before you begin your descent back to HKU

You'll walk under a pair of MASSIVE trees

For scale, my camera can't even get half the tree trunks in this shot

Here, you can kind of see how the trees form an arch and seem to stretch upward infinitely

Less than 10 minutes from the epic trees, you'll arrive back at the pavilion. Follow the sign down to PINEWOOD BATTERY via HATTON ROAD

About 2 mins later, you'll want to turn onto Hatton Road. A faded road sign will be your marker for when to turn. Head all the way down to HKU from here!

This section of the hike takes about 1.5 hours and leads all the way back down to HKU MTR Station.

The first 45 minutes of the trail will be full of incredible city views that are arguably better than the ones you'd otherwise get from the usual tourist spots by The Peak. Not only are the vistas from this trail less crowded, but they offer a greater number of vantage points, so you can appreciate some of the lesser-known parts of the Hong Kong skyline!

Once you make it back to the pavilion, you'll want to follow the sign pointing to " PINEWOOD BATTERY via HATTON ROAD".

Don't miss the faded Hatton Road street sign where you need to turn into to rejoin the Morning Trail back down to HKU.

Getting Back

Take the MTR from HKU Station, where this hike officially ends.