A Journey Awaits...Do you want to get out of your house and go somewhere? Do you want to do something different? Showing off a wide variety of activities to take part in and a stunning view, Tiger's Head is Lantau's most popular hike. This fantastic trek offers a medium difficulty trail which lasts around 3 to 4 hours depending on your walking pace. For the most part, Tiger's Head is a fully natural trail with not a lot of man-made structures. This trail is definitely one that everyone should try out and is without a doubt, one of Hong Kong's best trails.
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A Brief History...
The Tigers Head country trail is a trail that is relatively new and has little-to-no history. The little history that this trail has is mostly uninteresting facts about when the trail was made.
If you continue the hike all the way to Mui Wo you will go from a sophisticated and modern aesthetic in Discovery Bay, to a rustic and old-world charm aesthetic in Mui Wo. This trail has been around since around about 20 years ago in 1997. The trail quickly became a hotspot for Discovery Bay citizens as it was a trail that was close by to everyone who lived in DB, and was a junction point to Mui Wo, Tung Chung and other places on Lantau. The Tigers Head trail is a small trail that is mostly an uphill climb, which is not too challenging to adults and children. The trail has no handrails, as they were not implemented in the making of the trail. In the 20 years that the trail has been active, it has accompanied many people of different hiking backgrounds, and it is a good place to start if you’re just starting to get into the sport of hiking. The Tigers Head trail has this name because locals say the rock on the mountain looks like a large tiger beaming over the Discovery Bay area, and staring down at the citizens. |
The large Lantau Trail is right next to the Tigers Head trail, so we think that the Lantau Trail should have its own spotlight moment as well. The Lantau Trail, which opened on the 4th of December 1984. The trail is 70 km or 43 miles, the trail is a large loop which starts at Mui Wo and ends back at Mui Wo. The trail was a major hotspot for hiking on Lantau, as it had many different visitor facilities and the route was well marked. The trail is quite hard and not for beginner hikers. We would recommend this for people who are avid hikers and are in the expert range.
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How to get to Tigers Head...
Route 1 |
Route 2 |
Route 3 |
There are three main ways to get to the Tigers Head trail, which is located in Discovery Bay, Lantau Island. The first of the three ways to get to the tigers head is through the steps which is next to the Discovery Bay Road and a bus stop. Once there, it takes around half an hour to get up the steps and onto a dirt trail. Once you get on the dirt trail you will walk for a while and see a large incline in which you will need to climb to reach the Tigers Head, and the peak of the mountain. The hill has many loose rocks which could be dangerous if you slip, but mostly it should be an easy, but tiring walk up to the Tigers Head rock. The entire journey takes about 3-4 hours at a moderate pace.
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The second way of getting up to the Tigers Head is through a path which is located near the Discovery Bay Golf Club, and is very close to the Discovery Bay Reservoir. To get to this vantage point you must first walk up the Golf Club road until you can see an opening off the side of the road which leads into a dirt path. The dirt path will bring you onto a thin trail which gets you to the same point as the first trail. After reaching this point you will be able to see the same large ridge which leads you to the Tigers Head rock, and the summit of the mountain.
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The final and third way to reach the Tigers Head, is through the route which is just behind ‘The Greens’ which is a residential housing area connected to the Discovery Bay Road. This path is probably the most scenic route, and is the most difficult to take if you are a beginner at hiking. At the start of the trail you must walk along a concrete gutter, which then leads to a concrete path and into a steep incline. This incline will lead you through some tall weeds and grass, and will give you a taste of what the many insects and critters of Discovery Bay/Lantau are. Around the midpoint of this trail there is a very beautiful and scenic view of the Tigers Head rock, which is truly something spectacular and is a motivator for the rest of the trail. This trail leads you around the back of the mountain but, eventually meets up at a point that is accessible by the first and second routes. After reaching that point you walk up the same ridge, but starting in the halfway point of that ridge, which is closer to the Tigers Head rock.
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Essential Kit List
- At least 3 litres of water
- Food & Snacks
- Hat & Sunscreen(if it is a hot day)
- Waterproof jacket if the weather is bad
- Light bag
- Camera(optional)
Hazards
There are always dangers and hazards of going hiking. Here are a few for Tigers Head trail.
Note - Almost all trails have these dangers, don't let these hold you back
Note - Almost all trails have these dangers, don't let these hold you back
Hazard |
Risk |
Risk Level |
Prevention of Risk |
Dehydration |
Light-headedness, dizziness, fainting |
Moderate |
Bring sufficient water |
Animals |
Rabies, snake bites, insect stings, being rammed |
Low |
Do not approach dangerous animals |
Plants and Fungi |
Allergic reactions, thorns/spikes, death from wild berries and fungi |
Low |
Do not eat/touch dangerous plants along the trail |
Slippery/Small Steps |
Slipping, breaking bones, cuts |
Low-Moderate |
Walk sideways slowly and carefully if steps are narrow |
Steep Cliffs |
Death, severe injuries |
Low |
Do not stand at the edge of steep cliffs/overhangs |
Overcrouding |
Pushing, falling |
Low |
Try not to push and walk in single file |
Fires |
Severe burns |
Low |
Evacuate into a plain area (without trees) and notify someone |
Uneven Footpath |
Twisting ankle, falling, cuts |
High |
Wear hiking shoes and look at your footing |
Slippery Footpath |
Slipping, breaking bones, cuts |
Moderate |
Walk slowly and carefully |
Wildlife
Tiger's Head does has a large variety of wildlife ranging from from spiral plants, to dangerous snakes.
Birds you may see...Birds are very common in Tiger's Head trail, they will be everywhere. If you stay silent you can here birds chirping gracefully all around you.
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Snakes you may encounter...Do not worry, if you hike in the months of November, December, January or February it is less likely to see a snake because these are winter months and the snakes will most likely be hibernating.
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Plants you will see...Tiger's Head is packed with lots of different types of interesting plant species. Just make sure not to touch every plant!
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-Kites are birds of prey, native to HK they are called kites as they are always majestically gliding on the wind.
-Eagle owls these are quite a rare site on HK they have pointy ears and pretty feathers they also like all owls they have the ability of great eyesight and hearing and silent flight making them very stealthy predators. -Bulbuls are small shy quick birds they have very pointed crests on the top of their heads. -The Brown Bush Warbler is a small bird that makes it’s home in the bushes they are very shy and are known for jumping around a lot. |
-Pythons are quite rare to see they are not venomous but they are very strong and they squeeze their prey to death and swallowing whole.
-Bamboo pit vipers are green snakes with a venomous bite they like to camouflage in bamboo when they feel threatened they won’t hesitate to bite. but there is no bamboo on the trail so you won’t need to be worried. -Wolf snakes are nocturnal which means they only come out at night but they will strike and bite when threatened. Note - Following pictures not taken by us
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-Ferns are a very common type of plant that you can find in various locations, such as New Zealand, U.S.A and Hong kong.
-Brambles are known for their thorny stems, which can cause a nasty cut, they also have wild berries that can grow on them. -Black seeded Spike Sedge have brown-ish prickly looking spiky parts that branch off from the skinny green stem. -Shiny Leaf Prickly Ash, as the name suggests, these plants have small shiny leaves that have tiny black spikes running through the-middle of their leaves. |
Activities you can take part in
There are many beautiful and wonderful things to see and do when hiking on the Tiger’s Head trail. Other than just focusing on hiking up the mountain and getting up to the peak of the mountain, you might as well stop and enjoy the beautiful scenery, an urban jungle just below the soles of your shoes. The trail offers many breathtaking views and great scenic photogenic spots, which are great for showing off to your friends and family! If you need something to do while you are doing this, read the section below.
Photo Contest: In this activity, Try your best to take some stunning photos anywhere during the hike, after you finish the hike, compare pictures with your friend and decide who's picture looks the best! (You can analyse the pictures by looking at the perspective, amount of blur, rule of thirds and so on)
The Great Race: Try to safely get to the end of the hike, you will go against your friend/friends to race to the end of the 3-4 hour hike.
(PARTICIPATE AT YOUR OWN RISK)
Wild-life Spotting: Due to the lack of animals up on the trail, you will have to take pictures of different animals, and at the end, you will compare how many pictures of different animals you have with your partner, the person with most pictures of different animals wins.
I Spy with my Little Eye: This activity is a very old game. What you do is while you’re on your hike, you tell your partner something like: I spy with my little eye, something black and spiky. Your partner then tries to find what that thing is by saying: "Is it that caterpillar?" If he’s correct then he wins and you keep on alternating between your friend or your group
The Great Race: Try to safely get to the end of the hike, you will go against your friend/friends to race to the end of the 3-4 hour hike.
(PARTICIPATE AT YOUR OWN RISK)
Wild-life Spotting: Due to the lack of animals up on the trail, you will have to take pictures of different animals, and at the end, you will compare how many pictures of different animals you have with your partner, the person with most pictures of different animals wins.
I Spy with my Little Eye: This activity is a very old game. What you do is while you’re on your hike, you tell your partner something like: I spy with my little eye, something black and spiky. Your partner then tries to find what that thing is by saying: "Is it that caterpillar?" If he’s correct then he wins and you keep on alternating between your friend or your group
Get Going!
Start hiking. Get yourself ready with sufficient amount of water and right clothing and of you go! This hike will not take too long and is an enjoyable experience for all. This hike took us 3 hours, 37 minutes. Here's another challenge for you - beat our time when you try this out!