From Ki Lun Shan to Kwu Tung Reservoir

Ki Lun Shan is quite a popular trail in my neighborhood.  I have lived here for ten years and I finally mustered up enough courage to go.  As it turned out, it did take some courage to take down this trail, which is along the northwestern face of Ki Lun Shan.

In fact, my advice for fellow hikers is not to hike this trail on the north-western face of Ki Lun Shan as I did.  I will explain below.

Mistakes, Mistakes!

I missed one critical piece of information on my way to Ki Lun Shan.  The bloggers said get off of green top Minibus 605 at the final stop.  If I were to do that, I would have hiked up Ki Lun Shan via Ki Lun Shan Au on its southeastern face.  This way would take a bit longer but certainly much less dangerous.

I got off the minibus quite a bit earlier than the final stop.  I thought, I was already within the vicinity of Ki Lun Shan, and the TrailWatch app shows a path up to eventually end at the Kwu Tung Reservoir.  So let’s just take that path.  I did not do more research on this path on northwestern Ki Lun Shan.

The difficulty with this path is, first it was very, very difficult to locate as there was no clear indication of an entry.  I got off at the Ki Lun Shan Public Toilets, walked backward toward the Route 9 direction and spent at least half hour finding the entrance to an upward path.

These photos show how I found the entrance.  I do not have the words to describe where exactly it is.  Suffice to say, that this area is full of village graveyards and that is an indication.  The entry to Ki Lun Shan Au lies between two sets of stairs up village graveyards (photos below).  I tried going up on these two sets of stairs and both pathways ended with no way up the hill.

Photos above: these are the two sets of stairs that lead to village graveyards, and they are both wrong ways.

Look for a big patch of vegetation with this graveyard (this is somewhat halfway between the two staircases above).  This is the obscure entry to Ki Lun Shan.

Once you are here, you will have to pass a few graveyards before finding the proper hike up the hill. The photographs below is the sequence of views that I saw after I passed through the green patch above.  Please look out for the hiking ribbons (they are also on my photographs) and follow them.

When I saw hiking ribbons, I realized that this most obscure way is the way to Ki Lun Shan.

The Hike Up Ki Lun Shan

The path was clear at some sections but obscure at others.  My only advice is to watch out for the ribbons.  It was really quite amazing because every time I looked ahead with no clue where the path actually was, I saw a ribbon not far ahead guiding me.  These ribbons really were my guiding light.

This photo shows the views as I hiked up.  Since the trail is on the northwestern face of Ki Lun Shan, the views were that of Shenzhen afar and the fish ponds of Ma Tso Lung within the Hong Kong border.

There were sections that required both hands and legs.  In other words, it was literally a climb up.

I regretted every step that I took on this path.  It was truly dangerous, and I was hiking alone.  Certainly, one should not do this trail alone.  Furthermore, I soon realized that there was actually no exit point.  I could not have gone down the same way because the descent would have been too dangerous.  I could only grind on, and I did not know if I would actually find the way to the peak.

You will have reached a milestone when you see the large electricity transmission tower.

I took quite a number of breaks on this climb up.  It was demanding both physically and mentally.  With each unknown step up I could have injured myself.  There was no going back as well.  What if I reached a dead end?  I did not know if Trailwatch was right in showing the way, because the path was very obscure on the ground.

Another reason why I was so scared (I was actually fearing for my life all along this climb) was that a female hiker died hiking Ki Lun Shan last year.  She was found at Ki Lun Shan Au.  I really wanted to silence my fear, so I paid extra, extra, extra attention on every step that I took.

After the transmission tower, I came upon a significant outcrop of rocks.  That is inidcation that you are on the final stretch of the climb.  About another fifteen minutes of climbing, I saw people at the signpost on the peak of Ki Lun Shan.  Honestly, I have never, ever felt so relieved at the sight of human beings.  I then started hearing lots of chit-chats, and that was when I knew for sure that I have made it on this trail.

Views at Ki Lun Shan

Once at the peak of Ki Lun Shan, which is where you see this signpost below, you will enjoy exceptional, all-around panoramic views of New Territories north.

Photos: at the signpost of Ki Lun Shan, which is its peak.

Photos: Panorama at the peak of Ki Lun Shan, looking north into the extended skyline of Shenzhen.

I planned on exiting at Kwu Tung Reservoir.  I followed the directions on TrailWatch app and reached Kwu Tung Reservoir.  The descent was actually very tough as well, do take care.  There were a few sections with crossroads, but TrailWatch will direct you correctly.  Please use a proper hiking app for this trail.

Photos: panorama view looking northeastward on Ki Lun Shan’s peak.

Photo: Looking eastward at the peak of Ki Lun Shan

Worth mentioning here is that some hikers I met on the way asked about seeing the heart-shaped Kwu Tung Reservoir.  As far as I could tell, the views of Kwu Tung Reservoir on any point of this trail does not show a clear heart shape.  See my entry on Kwu Tung Reservoir if you want to take photographs with the heart shape.

When I was at this point looking at the dam of Kwu Tung Reservoir, I finally regained my calm.  The trail was simply too exciting for me.  This scene of serenity was probably the greatest highlight of this hike.

Due to the strenuousness of the climb up Ki Lun Shan, and the same rigor on descent to Kwu Tung Reservoir, I took three hours for a mere 3 kilometers on this hike.  It was a true test of perseverence, to say the least.

Reminders

I do think that doing a hike at Ki Lun Shan at any entrance point requires a few critical things.  First, wear long pants.  There are short shrubs all along the way and long pants will prevent scratches from thorny plants.

Secondly, and for the same reason as the long pants, gloves would be very useful on this hike.  Sometimes you do have to find support with whatever branches you manage to grab on the sides of the path.  Sometimes you must push away the shrubs that are overgrown onto the path too.

Hiking poles would provide support for the long descent down to Kwu Tung Reservoir.  There was a section where I decided to slide down on my bum instead of properly walking down.  Hiking poles would support the descent in a significant way.

Photos: on this descent, I slid down on a sitting posture.  The photo on the right shows the way to Kwu Tung Reservoir.

I was able to begin and complete this hike only with the help of TrailWatch.  Please do have a proper hiking app with you.

Finally, beware if you hike this trail in the summer and bring a lot of water with you.  Most of the way before reaching Kwu Tung Reservoir are wide-open with little shades.

How to Get There

The public transport to Ki Lun Shan is green top Minibus Route 605.  The stop is at the minibus stop next to the Sheung Shui MTR Station, close to the bus terminus.  The southeastern path up to Ki Lun Shan is close to the final stop of Route 605.