A hike from Shing Mun Reservoir to Tai Wai (Photo-essay)

Over the years, something that has surprised me is how many regular Hong Kong hikers, local and expat, are content to stick to just one part of the territory and/or just the major hiking trails like the 100-kilometer-long Maclehose Trail (which this year's Trailwalker participants are going along as I write this) or 50-kilometer-long Hong Kong Trail.  For, in contrast, I like trying out different trails that allow me to go along and view sections of the Big Lychee that I had never previously been to or seen; this not least because, often in the process, I discover alternative ways to connect one part of Hong Kong to another.  

So while it wasn't the most scenic of hikes that a friend and I went on one Sunday afternoon, I thought it pretty cool that, after a short detour to explore the ruins of the Shing Mun Redoubt, we went from Shing Mun Reservoir over to Tai Wai on a route that neither of us had previously been on before.  To judge from the small number of other hikers we saw along the way, few people seem to know about it -- something which, of course, made this particular exploratory excursion seem even more satisfying to us! ;b

Despite the warning signs, I've seen lots of people (including

what looked like a school party) venture into the tunnels 

and other sections of what's left of the Shing Mun Redoubt

 

As long as the ruins remain, there will always be a

Charing Cross, Picadilly Circus, Shaftesbury Avenue, 

Regent Street, etc. in Hong Kong

The area around the Shing Mun Reservoir's 

East Dam looks pretty green

 

Not far away though lies the Shing Mun Tunnels 

connecting Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin, and these short sections 

of visible road between far lengthier sections of the tunnels  

 

If not for this hike, I'd not have known how scenic the area around 

Lower Shing Mun Reservoir is, and how popular it is 

among such as operators of remote controlled aircraft!

 

The view to the west of this reservoir's dam

 

Walking eastwards, we passed by a still rural section

of the Sha Tin Valley

 

On the outskirts of Tai Wai, people's washing hung on 

the railings of bridges going over a dry section of the

Shing Mun River -- a sign that we were back in "civilization"! ;b