Sai Kung

Sai Kung sits at the end of a peninsula in the northeastern New Territories, 30 kilometres from Central but feeling considerably further in character. The town centres on a waterfront of fishing boats, seafood restaurants, and a small market that has operated since the peninsula was a fishing village. The pace is conspicuously slower than urban Hong Kong; the streets are navigable without being pushed along by crowds.

The surrounding country park covers most of the peninsula and provides some of Hong Kong's most varied walking. The MacLehose Trail — a 100-kilometre route across the New Territories opened in 1979 and named for the governor who established Hong Kong's extensive country park system — begins at Pak Tam Chung, six kilometres north of the town. Stage 2 of the trail, which crosses the High Island Reservoir causeway and follows the coastline north, passes the hexagonal volcanic rock columns of the UNESCO Global Geopark: formations created by lava cooling 140 million years ago into geometric columns that bear resemblance to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Sharp Peak, at 468 metres the highest point of the peninsula, is the most physically demanding day hike accessible from Sai Kung and requires about four hours round trip. The views from the summit over the islands and inlets of the outer harbour are clear on good days. The route is unmarked above the col and requires some scrambling on loose ground.

The live seafood boats moored in the bay are one of Sai Kung's distinctive experiences: small vessels operating as floating restaurants where diners select from live tanks and the catch is cooked on board.