Clear Water Bay is a picturesque waterfront neighborhood, tucked away on the northeastern coast of Sai Kung. It is in a relatively unspoiled area with hills, country park and rugged coastline. There are 2 beautiful beaches in Clear Water Bay, Clearwater Bay first beach and Clearwater Bay second beach, they can be reached by bus. Clear Water Bay draws a lot of nature & outdoor enthusiasts, you can enjoy the beach, sunbathing, hike, kayak, swim, coasteering, and even fly a kite.
There are “Three Gems” in Clear Water Bay: the cave (Twisted Cave 扭紋洞), the island (Green Egg Island 綠蛋島) and the peak (High Junk Peak 釣魚翁). They are wonderful photo spots and I am going to show you how to reach all three of them in a slightly over 17km trail.
This is an adventurous & fun trail where you will taste a bit of everything: getting inside the cave, hiking around the coast with amazing sea view, swimming to the island (optional) and hiking to one of the 3 sharp peaks in Hong Kong. I can guarantee you a fun & great workout day!
# The three sharp peaks in Hong Kong: Sharp Peak (468M) in Sai Kung, High Junk Peak (344M) in Clear Water Bay & Castle Peak (583M) in Tuen Mun.
My Trail:
“ Clear Water Bay 2nd Beach 清水灣第二灣 > TWISTED CAVE 扭紋洞 > Clear Water Bay 2nd Beach 清水灣第二灣 > Clear Water Bay 1st Beach 清水灣第一灣 > Tai Au Mun 大坳門 > Ngo Sei Kai 餓死雞 (263M) > BLADE RIDGE 刀片脊 > GREEN EGG ISLAND 綠蛋島 > Tai Au Mun 大坳門 > HIGH JUNK PEAK 釣魚翁 (344M) > LOHAS Park MTR 康城地鐵站 “
Distance: 17 KM
Duration: 7.5 hours
Elevation Gain: 1108 M
Difficulty: 4/5
(the challenges of this trail is the length and navigation part on the grey path!)
View: 5/5
How to get there & return:
1. Take MTR Kwun Tong Line to Tseung Kwan O 將軍澳 station, then take the exit directly into the Popcorn 1 Shopping Mall.
2. Turn right after getting inside the mall and you will soon see Toast Box cafe, next to it there’s a door to the bus terminus.
3. Take the green minibus #103M to Clear Water Bay 2nd Beach 清水灣第二灣, the final stop. The journey takes about 20-25 minutes.
4. The trail begins after you get off the bus! Have fun!
5. You will finish your hike at LOHAS Park MTR, easy to return to the city.
Hike Overview:
The first stop of this trail, and the first gem you are going to see is the Twisted Cave 扭紋洞, please check the tidal forecast before going because you need the tide to be at least lower than 0.8 meter to enter the cave. On top of that, during low tide, it is easier to get to the cave on the rocky shoreline, by coasteering.
After getting off the minibus at the final stop, Clear Water Bay 2nd beach, follow Tai Au Mun Rd. 大坳門路 to Po Toi O 布袋澳 direction for about 15 minutes, less than 1 km. Pay attention to the lamp posts on the left side of the road, look at the serial numbers on every lamp post because you need to look for the one with the serial number #EB 3995.
Once you see the #EB 3995 lamp post, walk for a few more meters ahead and you will see a path on your left going down to the shore. It is actually quite noticeable when you see some colorful ribbons on the branches and a rope, the path is just opposite of a pavilion across the road.
Use the rope to help you going down, you will be there in about 10 minutes. Once you are on the shore, turn left to get to the Twisted Cave 扭紋洞, you shall see some chalk-marked arrows on the rock showing you the direction to the cave.
Twisted Cave 扭紋洞 is close-by, look for the cave entrance, you will probably see some other hikers around it, if not, look out for the rope & wooden platforms, the evidence of people visiting it.
Once you are there, get inside the cave, it is a small and narrow passage to go inside. During low tide, you can easily walk inside on the rocks and the wooden platforms without getting wet. I’d suggest you bringing along your aqua-shoe (get a pair if you don’t have one, it is cheap!), with it you don’t have to worry about your hiking shoe getting wet in the water.
When you are deep inside Twisted Cave 扭紋洞, look out and you will be completely blown away with what you see.
After getting your shots, take exactly the same way and return to the main road, Tai Au Mun Rd. 大坳門路. To your right, go towards the Clear Water Bay 2nd beach & 1st beach direction, in about 2 km and you will arrive at Tai Au Mun roundabout. Turn right from the roundabout and keep following Clear Water Bay Rd. until the end, you’ll see another roundabout and a carpark. That’s where you’ll start hitting the mountain trail, Lung Ha Wan Country Trail.
Follow the Lung Ha Wan Country Trail to ascend, check on your Hiking Trail HK App and don’t miss the turn into the grey path (unofficial path) in your app to go to Ngo Sei Kai 餓死雞 at 263 meters.
Once on top, you will be rewarded with the great view of South China Sea and the islands around the bay of Sai Kung. Take a moment to rest and enjoy the great view before descending.
From Ngo Sei Kai 餓死雞, you will continue on the grey path as in the Hiking Trail HK App to descend and get to the Blade Ridge 刀片脊 in about 2 km. Remember, every time when you are hiking on the grey path, look for the ribbons along the way while tracking your location on the app, so you know you are on the right track. If you don’t, you can easily walk away from the trail and possibly get lost.
Blade Ridge 刀片脊 is a very beautiful photo spot, you’ll need to fly a drone to capture the image, then only you’ll see it looking like a blade.
Well, it doesn’t matter whether you have a drone or not, Blade Ridge 刀片脊 is a very stunning spot to feast your eyes.
After Blade Ridge 刀片脊, you will be going to the second gem of Clear Water Bay, the Green Egg Island 綠蛋島. It is just less than a kilometer away.
Get down to the beach and walk or swim over to Green Egg Island 綠蛋島, it’s very close to the beach. Or you can just relax at the beach, this island is a very popular spot for kayakers.
Then, you will move on and hike to Lung Ha Wan Rd. in slightly over 1 km. Follow the road for less than 3 km and get back to Tai Au Mun roundabout.
You will see Shing Kee Store at the roundabout selling noodles and drinks, get some food and cold drinks before getting to the 3rd and final gem of Clear Water Bay, High Junk Peak 釣魚翁.
Behind Shing Kee Store, take the path and go all the way to the top of High Junk Peak 釣魚翁 , at 344 meters. Up there, you will be able to see the entire Clear Water Bay Country Park, it is breathtaking!
From High Junk Peak 釣魚翁, you will have the final 3 km to descend and get to LOHAS Park MTR, completing the 17 km trail.
It is going to be a long day doing this trail but it is rewarding as you achieve both fitness training and having to see all the spectacular places.
“ After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value. ”
– G.M. Trevelyan
If you are interested in exploring other beautiful caves in Hong Kong, you can check out my blog on Pak Kok Cave Trail and Mok Min Cave Trail.