Despite its reputation as a towering metropolis, Hong Kong has an impressive hiking scene, and the trail known as ‘Dragon’s Back’ is probably its most popular. It’s just a short journey out of the city by public transport, boasts excellent signage, and is well maintained and suitable for beginners. The trail gets its name from the shape of the path as it stretches up and over several hills in the southeastern part of Hong Kong island – but don’t be afraid, it’s not as fearsome as it sounds!

Getting there 

The trail starts at To Tei Wan bus stop, which can be reached by public light bus from Shau Kei Wan MTR station. Exit A2 from the MTR is your best bet, as the buses leave from the small road between the buildings on your left as you exit. The journey from there (in 2025) to the start of the trail cost around 11HKD by Octopus or cash.

Your journey time to the beginning of Dragon’s Back will vary depending on where you’re staying, and will be much quicker if you’re already on Hong Kong Island. That being said, if you have access to a good bus route, a tram line or an MTR station, the journey is simple. 

Once on the bus, keep an eye out for the stop as it comes quickly (much faster in our experience than Google Maps suggests). We were kindly advised by a fellow passenger when to get off – chances are if you’re going on a fair day there will be other hikers on the same bus as you. You’ll know you’re in the right place, as you’ll see the first of many adorable dragon markers on the sign-post (you can look out for these along the way, they’ll show you that you’re on the right track).

The hike itself

It was quite unbelievable to us how quickly you can leave the bustle of Hong Kong behind for glorious hills and greenery. Hong Kong’s iconic ticking crossings are almost immediately replaced by the twittering of birds and croaking of hidden insects. Of course, the gargantuan city cannot be hidden for long. Along the way, there are numerous views of Hong Kong’s iconic sites – Stanley, Shek O beach, and glimpses of other outlying islands are waiting to reward you for your hard work along the way. You don’t, however, need to know the geography of the city to appreciate the experience. The trail will give you a great understanding of the natural landscape of Hong Kong that might just help you better understand the city itself. 

As previously mentioned, there are regular markers to show you the route and the various lookout points, so it’s difficult to stray too far from the trail. The trail is also well maintained underfoot. In fact, whilst we were there we met multiple maintenance crews working on improvements who kindly helped us pass. Though there are some areas that are a little rocky, most steep parts of the trail have benefitted from the addition of stairs.

Once you’ve completed the main part of the trail, which will probably take around 1.5-2 hours depending on the conditions and your speed, you’ll find some signs pointing you towards either Tai Tam Gap, or Big Wave Bay. We recommend going to Big Wave Bay to finish the hike at the beach. It’s a small seaside town with a lot of charm, a few surf shops, and a handful of small cafes/bars. The clue is in the name, but the beach is not one for swimming unless you’ve got some good sea shoes, as there are plenty of rocks and some sizeable waves (great for bodyboarding and surfing, though that is currently not allowed in 2025) but the beach is beautiful and great for dipping your toes into the cool water after the trek on a hot day.

After resting up at Big Wave Bay, you can easily get the light bus back to Shau Kei Wan to journey home, or continue on with your day. The mini bus goes from the car park just a few hundred metres from the beach, and the bus stop is well marked. They do run to a timetable, but we found the driver waited for the bus to be pretty much full before leaving, so don’t be too alarmed if you find you’re waiting around a while on the bus.

Overall

The hike is enough of a challenge to be entertaining, with some steep climbs that make the rest stops at the viewpoints a very welcome break to enjoy the breeze and the vistas, but the trail won’t be inaccessible to most people that are fit and well. We encountered groups of people of many ages, including some older people that put us to shame by near enough running up and down the hills!

We walked the Dragon’s Back trail on our first day in Hong Kong and wholeheartedly recommend any other visitors to the city do the same. One of us already knew the city well, and the other had never been, but both of us appreciated the early escape to nature and a good stretch of the legs after a long flight.