The Dragon's Back Trail

Southeastern edge of Hong Kong Island. From the ridge you see things that contradict every assumption about this city: no skyscrapers, no crowds, no concrete. Just the South China Sea stretching to the horizon and Big Wave Bay below in a white sand arc.

Bus 9 from Shau Kei Wan MTR to the To Tei Wan trailhead, twenty minutes. 8.5 kilometers to Big Wave Bay, easy to moderate. The trail follows the ridgeline at about 280 meters — grass, wild rhododendron, wind — and the city vanishes within ten minutes. November is best: humidity drops, sky turns that subtropical blue photos never capture, temperature sits in the low twenties Celsius.

The descent to Big Wave Bay drops through bamboo and secondary forest. You emerge onto a perfect crescent of sand with turquoise water and a handful of surfers. The village has restaurants with cold drinks and hot noodles. No shade on the ridge — water, sunscreen, hat.