Hiking: Lantau Trail Stages 11 & 12

The Lantau Trail in Hong Kong is 70 kilometers long and divided into 12 stages. I wish I was writing this post about my big finale after completing stages 11 and 12 with the AWA hiking group, but I missed a couple hikes and still have four stages to go.

Stage 11 starts at the catchwater off Tung Chung Road ---> the same catchwater from stage 10. Instead of traveling all the way to Mui Wo (from Discovery Bay) to meet the group coming from Central, I did a little research and took the chance that I could find the correct bus stop. It helped that I had mrC and a friend tagging along for moral support. We took the 3M bus and easily made it to Cheung Sha Catchwater.

Once the rest of group arrived, we followed the catchwater for about 3km with nothing more to see than concrete and trees lining the route. One member of our group lives in the area and told us how popular this section is for running because it is flat. The prettiest sight on this section was this waterfall with the mountains in the background.

After following the trail downhill for the last 1.5km, we reached the end of stage 11 and passed through the village of Pui O. This looked like an old village but we spotted some newer housing developments as we made our way to the start of stage 12.

Stage 12 was much more scenic right from the start. Coming out of the village we passed an inlet at low tide and spotted a little sign that Christmas is right around the corner.

We took a quick break at Pui O Beach. Unlike Discovery Bay which is surrounded by development, this beach felt like a peaceful haven away from the hustle and bustle. I would love to come back here and spend the day.

After leaving the beach, we began the hardest part of the hike ---> climbing approximately 260 meters up and over Tai Ngau Wu Teng. The higher we climbed, the better the views. It was amazing to look back and see the village of Pui O from above.

After passing the peak, we followed the trail down the mountain toward Mui Wo. Going up is tough on the quads, but going down is no fun on the knees.

Eventually we arrived at a perfectly placed pavilion to take a rest from all the down hill walking, enjoy the coastal views and get a great group shot (thanks to mrC).

We followed the last bit of trail right into Mui Wo. Glimpses of Silvermine Bay made our stomachs rumble knowing that lunch was coming soon.

Stages 11 and 12 took us just under 3.5 hours to hike the 11.75km. We always take our large groups to The Kitchen in Mui Wo for lunch. They treat us well, have great options on the menu for all and it doesn't take them long at all to serve us.

Now I just need to recruit some friends to complete stages 5-8 ;)

More posts from Lantau Trail hikes:

Hiking: Lantau Trail Stage 1 and 2

Hiking: Lantau Trail Stages 3 & 4 (Lantau Peak)

Hiking: Lantau Trail Stages 9 & 10