In all my times of visiting Hong Kong, I had never made it a priority to head out to the smaller surrounding islands. This all changed when my friend Chelsea and I planned an overnight trip to Hong Kong during one of the hottest weeks of the summer.
Lamma Island (南丫島), is the third largest island in Hong Kong and consists of two tiny villages. The one located on the northern end of the island is Yung Shue Wan (榕樹灣) and the one on the southern end is Sok Kwu Wan (索罟灣). There are ferries from Hong Kong Islandl to either of these villages, so we chose to take a ferry to Yung Shue Wan and return from Sok Kwu Wan.
Upon approaching Yung Shue Wan, we were met with this scenery.
Shortly after arriving into Yung Shue Wan, the road led us into the village, which was filled with cute little distinctive shops. The street was also lined with an abundance of seafood restaurants.
Our goal was to find the start of the Family Hiking Trail. We knew that this trail would lead us from Yung Shue Wan towards the beach and then continue on towards Sok Kwu Wan. As the name suggests, this is a relatively easy trail, suitable for all ages and it took us around 2 hours at a leisurely pace with many stops in between to enjoy the scenery.
There are signs on the main street pointing you towards the start of the Family Trail, which we knew was close to Hung Shing Yeh Beach (洪聖爺灣泳灘). However, the signs were not always the most visible. It took us a good 5-10 minutes of being lost before we finally figured out which direction we should be headed towards. The path leading towards the beach was well shaded, but as you progress along, you’ll realize that the rest of the trail isn’t, so make sure you are prepared for the sun and rain that could happen.
After walking around leisurely for about 20 minutes, we reached Hung Shing Yeh Beach. This is a popular spot for locals to have barbeques, but it was a very hot day, and the beach wasn’t very crowded at all.
After spending a few minutes at the beach, we found the official start of the Family Trail and started to head up the hill. The highest point of the hike is 100m above sea level and there were some pretty steep areas. However, they didn’t last too long and most of the trail really was very suitable for all ages. When you eventually reach the Hilltop Pavilion, you will be rewarded with some breathtaking views of the harbour below.
As you approach the end of the trail into Sok Kwu Wan, the trail isn’t quite as impressive as some of the past parts we had already explored. Sok Kwu Wan is definitely less developed than Yung Shue Wan. The village consisted of a handful of seafood restaurants, a temple and not much else. It was quite the opposite of Yung Shue Wan which was much livelier.
The sun was setting as we were waiting for the ferry at Sok Kwu Wan. By the time we were on our way back to Hong Kong Island, the sky had grown completely dark and we were able to enjoy Hong Kong’s night scenery from the ferry ride.
Lamma Island turned out to be a wonderful way to spend a few hours and now I can’t wait to explore the other surrounding islands of Hong Kong. If you’re interested in traveling to Lamma Island, you can find the ferry schedule for Central to Lamma Island on the HKKF website.
For more photos, please visit my Photo Gallery of Lamma Island.
0 comments on “Charming Lamma Island 南丫島” Add yours →