What I love Hong Kong will not be news for longtime readers of this blog. Every time I try to find here for yourself something new, and so far no problems with it was not. During a recent two-day visit, I climbed into the lion's Rock. This is a great upsurge, which for some reason I did not know before (otherwise would have gone a long time!)
It offers a great view of the city, but with a different perspective than what can be seen from Victoria Peak on Hong Kong's main island. Climbing on the rock, the tourist sees the whole of Kowloon and Victoria Bay at his feet. For the sake of this type, I had to work hard, but it was worth it.
1. Lion Rock is located north of the tourist area of Kowloon, and get there most easily by metro. We're going to stop Wong Tai Sin on the green branch. It's a half hour from the center of Hong Kong, with a cross-platform transfer along the way (to Monkok station). I came out of the subway, around the average sleeping area. And in the distance you can see the rock itself.
2. Immediately clear why it was called "the Lion", hence the outlines of rocks similar to the head of a huge lion.
3. Near the metro station some multicolored concrete temple, and around high-rise residential.
4. It is true that there is less and the remains prosperous Hong Kong - some shacks of sheet metal and slate. The main thing is that with the air conditioning. Summer is hot in Hong Kong.
5. To get there from the subway to the top of the trail is necessary or tramped about forty minutes walk, or catch a taxi. Since I am in Hong Kong for two days, I have not much time, and I choose the second option. Price question - about 20 Hong Kong dollars (about $ 3 US). When you stand at the foot of the mountain, the similarities with the lion disappears.
6. Before starting the climb I went into a public toilet, and was pleasantly surprised. He was not only very clean, but there's even a walk-in showers with lockers! And everything openly to the public and free of charge.
7. Warning signs at the beginning of the trail. Do not feed wild boars! "Wow," I thought. "Where there boars? Practically in the heart of Hong Kong ..."
8. Okay, time to go up. The trail starts behind this gate, obviously at some point it is closed for the night.
9. The inscription "the Lion's Rock," a good erased, I did not miss it a bit.
10. The first minutes of "trail" looks like. It's just a concrete staircase. If you do not like stairs, then perhaps this path is not for you.
11. But rather quickly the road takes a more natural look. There are many different paths, and it is important to follow the signs to not turn in the wrong direction.
12. Fortunately, the signs are placed quite often and in most cases Chinese inscriptions are duplicated in English. "One kilometer - One hour." I admit, this plate I was a little alarmed. Since my childhood I know that adults walk at a speed of 6 km / h, and if in this area had to go to six times slower, so lay ahead rather complicated ascent.
13. Fortunately, for the most part it was nice and well-marked forest paths, lined with stones. Yes, we have all the time to climb higher and higher, it was physically hard, but in general, no superhuman effort, this track is not required.
14. Somewhere about fifteen minutes after it started a forest path segment, I heard from the forest strange pohryukivane. The bushes rustled something, and suddenly the road in front of me ran a huge boar! Not paying any attention to me, he again disappeared into the forest. Surprise, I barely had time to take a picture of it!
I must say that the smell of him went still that. I thought the homeless in New York subway razyat spot their smell, but the boar all of them safely give odds!
15. And just a couple of minutes after the boar, I saw on the trail monkeys. I once naively thought that the monkey - cute, cute creatures. However, after a few encounters with them in Asia, I now know that they are not worth waiting for anything good, so I decided this time to stay away.
16. Somewhere halfway lift I came here for a gazebo. By this time I was pretty tired and sweating (in March already 25 degrees in Hong Kong), and decided to take a break.
17. There is a table and benches so that tourists could eat, and I immediately felt sorry that I did not bring with them any sandwich. Huge poster, standing nearby, warns visitors to pick up all the garbage with you.
18. Even here, from half way, opening excellent views of the city. According to Hong Kong's standards it was rather clear day, but iconic skyscrapers on the banks of Victoria Harbor, dissolve in a bluish haze.
19. There is a map of the area. Red dotted line denotes the main pedestrian route Hong Kong, hundred-kilometer trail Maklehouza. My today's walk is a small part of it.
20. And yet these trails can be found heavy concrete cubes, set in the first half of the XX century by British troops.
21. They plotted marks indicating the location of the various military units and fortifications of the era.
22. Nearby are explanatory signs that interpret the inscriptions on these stones for today's visitors.
23. We continue to climb. The trail becomes periodically stairs again, but now these steps in natural stone is very nice fit in the forest landscape.
24. For the tip close!
25. From the surrounding hills are clearly visible. At the top of a nearby, fully covered with greenery, is some kind of radio.
26. We rise higher and higher above the Kowloon. Beauty!
27. And here is the rock itself. It sticks out from the top of a green hill. Her sheer bare wall towers over the surrounding area.
28. On the way there is a set of warning signs of all kinds. It is strictly forbidden to throw stones, fall off a cliff, and even here it is better not to meddle. Well, I do not - and why I'm here an hour up?
29. When you look at the top side, it really seems like a pretty terrible.
30. The height of the Lion Rock - almost 500 meters above sea level. A good lift for walking in the city! This way a hundred meters higher than the Peak Tower Victoria Tower on the peak on the main island of Hong Kong. It is true, that the tower is not on the top of the peak (its height is 550m).
31. When you stand at the top is not so scary, steep cliff can not see in front of you just a pile of rubble that are not going anywhere, and under the feet of awesome views of the big city below.
32. You can sit down, relax.
33. Pull the legs. There, at the bottom of a huge number of residential high-rises. Let us not forget that the population density in residential areas of Hong Kong - one of the highest in the world.
34. Now you can really enjoy the view of the city. I had hoped that by the time I lift a little haze dissipated, but rather the opposite has happened. Generally, a few visits, I noticed that in Hong Kong, usually in the morning the air is cleaner than in the afternoon. So, if you want a good view, it is better to start your day early.
35. take the opportunity of its super-zoom soap dish, and then another, and Laytrume pretty twisted levers, to get here is a picture. There are certainly a lot of noise, but you can see the main skyscrapers of Hong Kong. ICC (closer to Koulunskoy side) and IFC (on the far shore of Victoria Bay). And even if you really look closely, visible even the Peak Tower.
36. What is more, we can see from here? .. How about this strip of land here? Until 1998, there was the main airport of the city. The approach was not easy, just because of the high mountains surrounding the area and the planes had at the last moment to do a fairly sharp turn. But we have since that time were amazing footage of huge ships pass in a few meters from the legendary slums of Hong Kong.
37. Along the foot of the mountain there is a wide highway. Interestingly, there are traffic jams? It's the middle of the day, and almost no cars.
38. At first thought it was some kind of very fashionable skyscraper in the form of a stepped pyramid. Then he looked closer and realized that in fact, look at the Chinese cemetery, located on a hillside.
39. And of course, a huge number of sleeping areas, consisting of a multi-storey cheloveinik from which dazzled.
40. As I sat and looked at all this, I flew past few quadrocopter. It seems I'm the only sucker who climbed this mountain and brought a drone. I can only imagine how cool it looks like video-selfie man standing at the top of this rock.
41. However, I have my own trick. I climbed to the highest rock, and rotate with the phone, taking a spherical panorama of the area.
(Here it is, if you are interested.)
42. After that it was time to go down. One advantage of the Lion Rock is that you can go down a different road than up.
43. It is not fast, I had more good half hour to stomp down, but at most for the way were great views of the city and its environs.
44. As a result, I spent on the rise and descent of about three hours, and it is given a few stops on the way up, and a half hour spent on the top.
After the descent I found myself in the midst of these cheloveinik, and for the sake of saving time, caught a taxi and drove to the nearest metro station, Diamond Hill Station.
If you're going to Hong Kong, and not quite know what to do there, I remind you about my introductory walk through the city in one day. And then there is a list of other places in Hong Kong, where it is possible to drive when you're tired of walking through the central areas.