The Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve (Red Walk)

The red walk of Tai Po Kau is an easy 3km walk in the Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve area.  The Tai Po Kau Nature Trail offers five routes of choice.  Four are demarcated in the colors red, blue, brown and yellow.  The fifth walk is the Tai Po Kau Nature Trail.

The red walk is the shortest at 3km, then came the blue walk, at 4km and with some upward steps and therefore some aerial views.  The brown walk is at 7km, and it will lead you to an ascent of 500+ meters.  The yellow walk is at 10 km, quite a bit of climbing but you will be rewarded with beautiful aerial views.

The Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve

The Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve was originally known as the Tai Po Kau Plantation.  It prides in a 460-hectare area with more than 100 species of plants.  It takes up the heavily-wooded expanse between the eastern slope of Grass Hill and Tai Po Road.

As its name suggests, the Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve was a result of both the area’s natural endowment and a planned afforestation program.  In 1926, the Hong Kong Government began afforestation, and planted the Chinese Red Pine (Pinus massoniana) there.  Because of the dominance of this tree, the area became known as Tsung Tsai Yuen, meaning Pine Garden in Chinese.

The Red Walk

We began at the Tai Po Kau Garden.  First, we passed by a beautiful pavilion before heading up the slope.  The slope would be the most “rigorous” part of this trail.  Once we reached the red walk proper, the walk was very easy. Follow the clear signs for the red walk throughout this trail.  You won’t get lost as they are very clear throughout.

Photos: above, at the Tai Po Kau Garden.  Below: clear signs line the trail.

As we began walking, we noticed a very nice breeze.  The day was still somewhat warm, by autumn standards.  There was a little bit of sweating even on this easy trail.  We thought this trail would be a perfect choice for the summer, because the woods provide ample shades.  Yet on a rainy day it would certainly be too humid to be enjoyable, as the foliage would trap plenty of dampness within the area.

We also passed by a number of streams with walkways and bridges.  They present a very soothing and beautiful scenery.  The red walk does not present open aerial views, unlike the yellow walk.  Therefore we mostly appreciated the funny-looking rocks and enjoyed every breath of fresh air enabled by the abundance of trees.  Finally, bloggers have noted that between April and August, fireflies can be spotted on the red walk as well.

These are the photos on the way.

Some interesting sightings:

The red walk is the shortest of all four and it is 3km in length.  While the route itself would take less than one hour on normal walking speed, we as a group proceeded jovially and slowly with many picture taking opportunities.  The red walk is a loop and you will head back on the same slope that leads you to the Tai Po Kau Garden.

Including the time to walk to and from the trail itself, the journey took us two hours.

Getting There

We went by private car and we parked at the Tai Po Kau Garden parking lot.  On that day, which was a weekday morning, we had to park illegally as all the marked spots were taken.  Therefore plan to go early.

By public transport, buses 72, 72A, 73A, 74A and green top minibus 28K run on this section of Tai Po Road.  The stop is Tsung Tsai Yuen.

Sources

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conversation Department, Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve.

Timhiking.com, Tai Po Kau Nature Trail (Brown Walk).