The walk
Victoria Peak is 552 metres high and the highest point on Hong Kong Island. Almost nobody realises that you can walk right around the top of it on the level: the Circle Walk is 3.5 kilometres long, rises and falls by about twelve metres in total, and takes a comfortable hour. It is the single best introduction to the shape of the city, because the harbour, Kowloon and the outlying islands are in front of you for most of it, and the south side of the island comes into view at the back.
Lugard Road
The first half of the loop is Lugard Road, built in 1913 and 1914 and named after Sir Frederick Lugard, the fourteenth governor. For part of its length it is a plank road - a narrow shelf carried along the face of the cliff, with timber-fronted houses standing on their piles immediately below the path and, further down, the road and the cars on it. Twenty minutes in, the path opens at the Lugard Road viewpoint, which is where the photograph of Hong Kong is actually taken: the whole harbour, Kowloon on the far side, and the islands beyond. Two early buildings survive along the way - No. 1 Lugard Road, a white house graded II, and No. 27, which is graded I.
Cultural Insight
The Peak was settled as a summer retreat because it is measurably cooler than the city below, and for decades it was reserved by ordinance for senior officials and the wealthiest residents. The Peak Tram, which has been climbing from Central since 1888, was built to serve them; it is Asia's first funicular, 1.27 kilometres long, and the ride takes about ten minutes. We take it up, and the return is included.
Harlech Road
The second half of the loop is Harlech Road, tree-shaded and easy, which brings you back to the Peak Tower in about fifteen minutes. There is a small waterfall below the Austin Hill playground on the way. Part of the route coincides with Stage 1 of the Hong Kong Trail. There are no supply points anywhere on the circuit, so we buy water at the Peak before setting out.
Timing
We plan the walk so that the harbour side of the loop falls at the end of the day. Start roughly ninety minutes before sunset and you get the south side of the island in the flat afternoon light, the harbour in dusk, and the city lighting up below you as you finish - which is why this route is worth doing in the evening rather than at noon. If you would rather go up to the Sky Terrace 428 viewing deck at 428 metres, that admission is separate and is not in the price. Dinner afterwards is at the Peak, with the lit harbour beneath the windows, and it is included.
Meals
Dinner (at the Peak, after the walk)
Accommodation
Day programme - no hotel night included.
