We’ve hiked from Wan Chai to The Peak on several occasions, and it’s always been via a different route. Once we even made the mistake of walking along Peak Road, which is extremely narrow, has no pavement, and is the main vehicular road to The Peak. Needless to say, it was a big mistake!
However, we finally perfected the route from Wan Chai to Victoria Peak and thought it was best to share. Our route involves minimal walking on roads that are shared with vehicles. And of course, it has amazing views!
Wan Chai to The Peak Hike
Wan Chai to The Peak Hike map and elevation profile
The hike from Wan Chai MTR to The Peak is about 5.4 kilometres, and it took us an hour and forty-five minutes to complete. But we hiked to the top of Victoria Peak. We usually end the hike at the Peak Tower, but this time we decided to go all the way to the top!
Panoramic views of Hong Kong from the Victoria Peak viewing point
However, if you do decide to end the hike at Peak Galleria, you can essentially shave off 1 km/15 mins from the stats above.
Starting point
We start our hike to The Peak from Hopewell Centre on Queens Road East. You can either take the steps on the side of Hopewell Centre or the elevator in Hopewell Centre to Kennedy Road.
The starting point, the steps next to Hopewell Centre
Once on Kennedy Road, cross to the other side, and walk left till you reach Wan Chai Gap Road / Wan Chai Green Trail.
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- Cross Kennedy Road
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- Turn right on Wan Chai Green Trail
Wan Chai Green Trail to Wan Chai Gap
I can never tell if this trail is called the Wan Chai Gap Road, or Wan Chai Green Trail. Regardless of the name, it is essentially the toughest part of the entire hike!
The trail is quite steep
Wan Chai Green Trail is a steep, uphill trail that connects Kennedy Road to Wan Chai Gap. It’s split into two parts by the Bowen Road Fitness Trail.
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- The Bowen Road Fitness Trail is a welcome sight after the grueling climb
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- Bowen Road Fitness Trail
The Wan Chai Green Trail can be relentless, especially on a hot and humid day. Walk up the slope at a comfortable pace. There are a few seating spots to catch your breath. We usually prefer taking a break at the Bowen Road Fitness Trail intersection.
After catching your breath, continue along the Wan Chai Green Trail till you reach the main road.
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- The Wan Chai Green Trail continues
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- Wan Chai Green Trail gets really steep towards the end
The trail ends at Stubbs Road on Wan Chai Gap, which is an intersection of six different roads.
Finally, at Stubbs Road on Wan Chai Gap
Wan Chai Gap to Magazine Gap
The next section of this urban hike is very straightforward. At Wan Chai Gap, look for the “Police Museum” sign. Cross the road towards Wan Chai Gap Park, and walk along Coombe Road.
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- Cross the road and follow the Police Museum signs
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- The start of Coombe Road
Coombe Road has a gentle incline, and feels like a breeze after conquering Wan Chai Gap Road!
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- Coombe Road
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- Almost at the end of Coombe Road
After about 650 metres, Coombe Road merges into Magazine Gap.
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- Views of South Island
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- Coombe Road brings us to Magazine Gap
Magazine Gap to Barker Road
At Magazine Gap, turn left onto Peak Road and cross the road whenever possible.
Turn left on Peak Road and cross the road immediately
At the next crossing, turn right onto Barker Road.
Turn right on Barker Road
On a clear day, the views from Barker Road of the skyline are spectacular! You can reach The Peak if you continue along Barker Road itself. But this is not the ideal route.
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- Barker Road
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- Hong Kong seen from Barker Road
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- Views from Barker Road
So, after 400 metres of walking into Barker Road, look for a trail on the left.
Take the path going up on the left
Barker Road to Findlay Road (via Lloyd Path & Severn Road)
The trail on the left is Lloyd Path. Walk up Lloyd Path till it merges with Severn Road. And then walk along Severn Road for about 700 metres.
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- Walk up Lloyd Path
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- Lloyd Path meets Severn Road
Severn Road is an absolute gem to walk on. It’s covered with old, lush trees that give it a colonial hill town vibe. And there are fewer cars on this road as compared to Barker Road.
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- A majestic tree on Severn Road
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- Continue down Severn Road
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- Hiking to The Peak in the winter haze
Towards the end, Severn Road merges with Plantation Road. Walk for about 30 metres on Plantation Road and then take the path going up on the left. It’s a pedestrian-only path called Findlay Road.
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- Severn Road meets Plantation Road
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- From Plantation Road, take this path on the left going up
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- Findlay Road
Take a short walk down Findlay Road, and you’ll find yourself at The Peak.
The Peak
Findlay Road emerges at the Lion’s Pavilion and ends between The Peak Galleria and The Peak Tower.
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- Findlay Road comes out at Lion’s Pavilion
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- Peak Tower on the right, Peak Galleria on the left
Needless to say, this is the most popular (tourist) spot in Hong Kong for taking pictures of the skyline. Unfortunately, the views were quite hazy on the day we hiked up. We’ve taken much better pictures of the skyline which you can see in our Hong Kong photo gallery.
The iconic view of Hong Kong from Lion’s Pavilion on a hazy day
Now ordinarily we would have ended our hike here, as we did when we hiked up from Pok Fu Lam Reservoir. But this time we came with the agenda to hike to the top of Victoria Peak, and not what is often referred to as The Peak.
So we took a quick break, before continuing to the real Victoria Peak.
Victoria Peak
At 552 metres, Victoria Peak is the highest point on Hong Kong Island. Unfortunately, one cannot hike to the top because it’s closed thanks to all the radio towers. However, there is a nice viewing point right under the peak.
From the touristy Peak, walk up Mount Austin Road which is between Lugard Road and Harlech Road. Continue uphill on Mount Austin Road, past all the houses and the lovely Mount Austin Playground.
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- Walk up Mount Austin Road
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- Walk past Mount Austin Playground
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- Stay on Mount Austin Road
Keep walking uphill towards Victoria Peak Garden. But just before the garden, there’s a fork in the road. Mount Austin Road turns left towards the old Mountain Lodge Guard House and Victoria Peak Garden. But there’s a path that turns right on which cars aren’t allowed. Turn right at this fork, and then at the next fork, take the steps on the right.
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- Take this path on the right
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- Take the steps to the right
Walk on the path for a couple of minutes, and you’ll emerge at the viewing point for Victoria Peak.
(2025 update: We’ve learned that the viewing deck on top of Victoria Peak is now closed to the public.)
Admiring the views after the hike
Wan Chai to Victoria Peak Hike, Hong Kong
The viewing point from Victoria Peak is a small, flat area, perfect for picnics. The views of Hong Kong’s skyline are partially hidden thanks to the peak itself.
(2025 update: We’ve learned that the viewing deck on top of Victoria Peak is now closed to the public)
Victoria Peak viewing point
It’s funny how we’ve been in Hong Kong for so long, but never really been to the top of Victoria Peak. The nearby Victoria Peak Garden is another beautiful gem on The Peak.
Mount Austin behind Victoria Peak Garden
If you enjoy this hike, we highly recommend Mount High West which is right next to Victoria Peak. Or learn about the several other trails to hike to The Peak in Hong Kong.
Even with the hazy views, we can see where we started the hike from
We hope you enjoyed our guide for the Wan Chai to The Peak Hike, through (what we think) is the best route. And if you’re looking for more hikes from Wan Chai, I recommend the Lovers’ Rock Hike or the Wan Chai to Aberdeen Hike.
And as always, feel free to drop a comment below or share this post on the social media channel of your choice.
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16 Comments
Wonderful directions. Clear and precise with lots of photos. Avoids traffic, noise, pollution and traffic perils.
I used them just now to walk from the Peak to Wanchai.
Thank you.
Thank you for the feedback, really appreciate it 🙂
One suggestion – in the elevation profile map, could you put some dots on the slope line and mark the points, such as Bowen Road intersection, Police Museum, etc, so that people can judge the upward slope involved at different points?
Thanks, Dil. I’ll take that into consideration.
Great direction thanks. The Wan Chai Gap road is a bit of a toil, but it’s a great way to get to the Peak, thank you.
Thanks, Peter! Yes, it’s the only challenging part of what is otherwise a fairly easy uphill climb.
Thank you for the detailed guide which gave me such a lovely experiencing! As a first timer, I felt spoilt by the choices of views and scenery along the way. I’d advise first timers to ignore all the paths that say “private” so as not to get confused on the way. Also, when I went, the final steps on the right led to a forage covered path. I had to use an alternative makeshift path against a nearby fence that leads to the lookout spot. Great post!
Thanks for your feedback, Turi!
This is an AWESOME guide that makes visiting The Peak enjoyable rather than a clash with crowds. The photos and commentary are all sot on. Thanks!!!
Thanks a ton, Mark!
Appreciate these and love the detail it goes into. Do you think it would be worth including an exportable map or link to strava or another hiking app with the trail routed for other users to follow?
I’m also curious how the elevation/time/distance data is calculated as I’ve plugged what I think is this route step by step into strava and it looks to have a significantly shorter route than the steps provided (about 1km less)
https://www.strava.com/routes/3364946380213699468
Hey Charles,
Thanks for the awesome comment! Yes, I can provide the .gpx files if needed, but there’s a reason I avoid uploading them on the site. There are so many hikes where I’ve gone off trail, got lost, or counted extra steps and distance just while wandering about. And I usually try to point that out in the guide itself.
In my previous guides, I used to equate that distance from my tracker with the actual distance of the trail. And I realized that was an inflated number. In my recent guides, I’ve avoided this mistake (see https://droneandslr.com/travel-blog/hong-kong/mount-parker-hike/ as an example).
Looks like I haven’t rectified it in this guide. Let me update it now.
For time, I typically pause my tracker whenever I take a break. So, it’s usually a mean estimate given that hiking speeds vary greatly.
I hope this answers your question. Thanks again!
Thank you for the detailed guide, very clear and I was able to follow all the way to Victoria Peak. Unfortunately the viewing point there is now enclosed by fencing and officially off limits😔
Thank you very much for your comment! Oh, that’s not good. I’ll update the post to reflect the change. Thanks again!
I used this information to hike to the Peak from Wan Chai (2026/2/14).
The directions were very precise and very useful (no chance of getting lost!). Thank you so much.
As for the “closed” deck area right beneath the Peak, I was able to access it because the access closure is not very tight.
It does give you a great view of the city and harbor.
Thank you so much for the feedback, and good to know that you could access the viewing deck just below the summit!