Climbing Victoria Peak

We headed out this morning to climb Victoria Peak, the tallest mountain on Hong Kong island. Knowing that I would climb more slowly than Shelly, I left an hour or so before she did and met her at the top. We'd both been to Victoria Peak before, but never under our own power. This is why most people who visit the top decide to take some form of vehicular transportation:


Most of them take the Peak Tram, which has been in operation since the late 1888 and, at one point, climbs a 27 degree incline. This is how we each reached the peak the last time.


There are as many routes for the first few legs of the climb as there are streets in Hong Kong, but we decided to follow the Tramway Path until it ends, which is about halfway up.


After an hour or so of climbing, I was finally above most of the buildings below me, from the skyscrapers in Central and Admiralty to the high-rise apartments in the Mid-Levels. It took Shelly much less than an hour to reach this point. What can I say ... I'm slow.


Amazingly, we timed our arrival at the top almost perfectly. It was windy and cool at the top but, unfortunately, the pollution from eastern China -- which seems to obscure the view most days -- kept us from getting great photos. It was not nearly this hazy a decade ago, the last time I was here. Still, these photos seemed to turn out okay.




As we joined the throngs of tourists at the top, we tried not to feel too superior, knowing that most of them had not climbed the mountain on their own. The Peak these days is full of fancy shops and a variety of restaurants, including one of only two Burger Kings in Hong Kong.

How's that for fast food trivia?