From Eagle’s Nest to Beacon Hill

Having done the Eagle’s Nest Nature Trail in the previous week, we decided to vary our itinerary this time for just a little.  The day was overcast, and in fact the weather forecast predicted squally thunderstorms.  We tried our luck.

The Eagle’s Nest Trail connects to a route running east-west all the way to the Lion Rock on eastern Kowloon.  Beacon Hill is about a third of the way into Lion Rock.  The Chinese name of the hill is descriptive of the shape of the hill, which supposedly looks like a “pen holder.”  As to the English name, Wikipedia references this interesting history:

“The hill’s name date back to the Great Clearance between 1661 and 1669, which required the complete evacuation of the coastal areas of Kowloon in Hong Kong in order to fight against and then subsequently defeat the anti-Qing movement that was first started and largely led (initially) by surviving Ming Dynasty loyalists (carrying on the struggle against the new Manchu-formed Qing Dynasty). Qing military garrisons were created and stationed throughout most of Kowloon’s coastal areas to enforce the Qing government’s decree in locations which later became referred to as beacons.”[i]

Travelers who enter the New Territories via the Lion Rock Tunnel would notice Beacon Hill and the structures at its top, including a big white globe.  These are structures maintained by the Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong.[ii]

The Itinerary

The itinerary was simple.  At the entrance of the Eagle’s Nest Nature Trail, we took the opening on the right.  From what I remember last time hiking the trail, this opening is closer to the route that connects to Beacon Hill than the one on the left.  We hiked for a little more than half hour and came upon the pavilion:

The stairs on the right will lead one onto Lung Yan Road.  This road was built by the government to access the aviation facilities on top of Beacon Hill.  At 457 meters tall, Beacon Hill and thus this section of the hike is rigorous.  There is a map on Lung Yan Avenue showing the route to Lion Rock.  Lying right ahead is the set of stairs that would lead one onto the intermediate height of Beacon Hill.  These stairs take about 20 minutes.  It was tough, to say the least.

Left: Lung Yan Road is paved.  Right: Eagle’s Nest Trail when entering via the opening on the right.

Once up on the next level, lying ahead is another set of stairs that would lead one onto the white globe.  We declined on that route, it was too much stair-climbing already.  Instead, we walked on the paved road toward the towers.

The weather was with us that day.  There were some dark clouds and yet not one drop was rained down on us.  However, it did affect the views of Kowloon.  Given a clear day, it would have been a great view.

To descend, we chose the paved road instead of the rigorous stairs.  It was circuitous but it would not be so hard on our knees.

This trail takes about 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes.  This time, we did not see any monkeys, but we saw some unleashed dogs.

[i] The Wikipedia on Beacon Hill.

[ii] Id.