Human-made and natural sights on a hike along Wilson Trail Section 2 (Photo-essay)

In the first year of hiking in Hong Kong, an experienced hiker friend told me that the most challenging Hong Kong Island trail is way less difficult than many trails in other parts of Hong Kong.  At the time, I had yet to go up The Twins, Jardine's Lookout and Mount Butler.

Nowadays, however, I look at these Hong Kong Island hills as familiar territory.  But while I still do find a hike up and down The Twins to be pretty formidable and consequently have not yet trekked Section 1 of the Wilson Trail (which takes in The Twins and also Violet Hill) in one go, I've happily gone along the entirety of the lengthier Section 2 in a single afternoon --and more than once, and including on a summer's day (that offered up plenty of bug spottings) too! ;b

The trigonometrical station on Jardine's Lookout

Some people look upon stone quarries as scars on the landscape

but I feel that they have a beauty of their own

Water and different rocks and minerals combine

to form a (temporary) natural work of art

An impressively large kite flew overhead 

as we hiked along the trail that day 

 

 The kind of landscape many people find hard to believe

can be found in Hong Kong, never mind Hong Kong Island :)

Yes, I really did spot this exotic looking flora

growing in the wild of Tai Tam Country Park :b

An even more surreal sight along the trail is this

shrine area that some dedicated soul has set up

Another unexpected sight along this scenic hiking trail:

Outdoor stoves built in anticipation of people fleeing to the hills 

when the Japanese invaded Hong Kong during World War II, 

but which ended up never being used as originally intended