Travel Hong Kong: The Kam Sui Shek Teng of High Island Reservoir

in #hive-1637722 years ago

July 14, 2022

Another hidden paradise of Hong Kong was explored by my travel buddy and me one bright Sunday. An unforgettable place that I would like to visit again and again.

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Located in the High Island Reservoir premise in Sai Kung Peninsula, New Territories is Kam Sui Shek Teng or what they called "Toad Stone Peak" in English translation.

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During my entire stay here in Hong Kong, I never heard about this place and I was awed by it when I saw its photos online. This made me yearn for visiting the place and we immediately planned our visit right after knowing this beautiful paradise. An adventurer like us would always want to explore a beautiful spot, regardless of the weather condition, lol.

How to get there?

No train directly goes to Sai Kung, so from Mongkok city, we rode a bus to Sai Kung town.

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It took us more or less 30 minutes to reach the town. You wouldn't get bored along the way either, because the view going to Sai Kung is captivating as well.

From Sai Kung town, we waited for a bus going to Sai Wan at the bus stop near Mcdonald's. The bus has a limited number, and always has a long queue. So if you want to visit this place, you better go earlier in the morning, so you could visit more beautiful spots in one day.

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After another 30 minutes or less, we reached the Sai Wan Pavilion stop, and our real journey began.

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Reminder:

There aren't any sheds in this place, except for limited space behind the basalt. So you better wear something that could protect you from the scorching sun if you prefer to visit this in Summer. But the best seasons are Autumn and Spring. You can bring an umbrella if you want 🤣 and wear a jacket or cap. And don't forget to apply sunscreen protection on your skin 😉.


From the pavilion, we followed the signage to Sai Wan. There's an intersection, the one on the right is the way to this place.

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Our humble journey started on paved concrete flat paths that made our hike easier. There were more hikers with us that day, mostly Indonesians. The weather was perfect too, yet hot. But our jackets and caps protected us from the scorching sun.

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After 10 minutes of walking under the sun, we got a glimpse of the beautiful High Island Reservoir on the right side of the road and the peak from the distance. It was a paradise to behold.

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By looking at the water dam from the distance, you could think that the water seems artificial. Its construction is distinctive and seems beautifully formed.

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A few more minutes is a bridge crossing a stream.

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From a flat paved road, it starts to ascend and a half-stairs road beautifully winds up the hill.

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At the end of it is another intersection that goes in three directions. The straight path is to the beach, to the reservoir on the right, and the left is to a waterfall (no photo). Since we planned to visit the basalt or toad stone, we headed in the right direction to the reservoir.

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Following the narrow concrete staircase, our journey to the reservoir began. And a few minutes away from the intersection is a resting shed. We rested for a while before heading to more stairs up the hill.

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The higher we get, the prettier the view is. The middle of the stairway offers a stunning view of Sai Wan beach at the bottom of the hill, and the beautiful Sharp peak on the opposite island. Its peak covered by clouds shows how tall it is. This is one of the islands I want to visit and hike someday.

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From concrete paths to dirt paths. There wasn't any signage showing the direction to the toad stone peak, so we just followed the direction we thought was right.

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We climbed up and down, and up an inclining rocky hill.

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When we were midway to the top of this hill (photo below), we saw the toad stone peak in the opposite direction to the right. Therefore, we were heading to the wrong one, lol. We were almost lost due to a lack of signposts and more intersections gave us confusion.

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We traced our way back to the intersection down the hill and looked for a spot with an internet connection so we could search for the right direction online. Only to find out that the spot with the Maclehose Trail signpost we passed by was the starting point up to the peak.

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The view of the peak from the distance (middle hill)

The narrow way to the peak is on the left side of the signpost covered by bushes. We passed through bushes on dirt paths and climbed up the hill following the tied ribbons on branches and bushes.

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The effort was well paid off when we reached the bushy viewing platform on the top of the hill that offers a stunning panorama view of the reservoir. The toad stone peak on the other hand served as our compass so we wouldn't be lost again. It's too evident anyway and just a few more trails to take.

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We met two Filipinas in this area. One is a Youtuber and we both came from the same province. They were lost as well like us, lol.

It looks near, yet still far. All the views from different parts were so captivating that I couldn't stop myself from taking photos.

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We followed the narrow trails down and up the hill with some detours and some seemed to disappear in the middle. The tied ribbons on the branches helped us track the right trail to the peak.

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At noon, we breathed a sigh of relief when we finally reached the summit. It was truly an arduous hike, yet rewarding.

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The top of the summit offers a stunning panoramic view of the reservoir. It was my first time seeing turquoise water dam color as I usually see green ones. The water color changed probably due to some factors and natural elements, or the water dam was naturally made with turquoise color.

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One would probably want to touch the water due to curiosity, but going near the water dam area is prohibited in all water dams here in HK.

According to Wikipedia, this reservoir has a water capacity of approximately two hundred and seventy-three million cubic meters, making this the biggest reservoir in Hong Kong. The construction lasted for 10 years from 1969 with the use of a lot of techniques and technology.

Clambering up the giant toad stone wasn't really that difficult, contrary to what we thought. The rock boulders served as our handheld and foothold. My buddy was hesitant to climb at first, so I did the first move and encouraged her to try because we might not be able to go back to this place again.

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One shouldn't leave without climbing up the 150-meter stone as it has a more scenic view from atop. Drones were hovering above to take 360° shots of the place.

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It's once in a lifetime experience, so seize the moment and take more shots 🤣.

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Look at that butterfly, it was perfect timing 🙂

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My buddy is smiling in the photo but her legs were actually trembling that day and I only convinced her to stand up for a better shot 🤣. No, I want her to conquer her fear of heights.

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On the upper part of the stone is a flat platform where visitors could take better panoramic shots or play with drones.

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The man who played the drone

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Isn't the view stunning? A perfect Instagrammable backdrop

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Green foliage on the other side

There was no resting shed in the area, except for the limited space behind the toad stone. This was where we had our lunch while lining up for the next photoshoot spot, the best in the place.

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Incredible scenery awaits as I successfully scrambled up another stone and more instagrammable photos were taken. The stone may look short from the distance but it was difficult to climb and quite dangerous as well since it was a few hundred meters above sea level and only the risk taker can go to this cliff.

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I felt proud of my buddy as she somehow conquered her fear of heights. And look how she stood confidently at the edge of the cliff. She thought she couldn't make it. But she wants souvenir photos of course and that inspired her to take the challenge to climb this cliff despite having short legs 🤣.

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The stone behind her is almost as tall as her, lol

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Yey! She made it!

Another achievement was unlocked and we felt like we received an award as we successfully conquered the arduous hike just to reach this beautiful spot in Hong Kong.

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We started our hike at 10:30 in the morning and we opted to go back to the base at past 2 in the afternoon to visit more places at Sai Kung Town. We reached the base at 3:30 in the afternoon, so it was more or less 3 hours hike (because we got lost in direction), excluding the time we spent taking photos and resting.

No other trails are going back to the base so we retraced back the same trails and passed through overgrown bushes and dirt paths. There are more options as you reached back to the three-way intersection I mentioned above. Either you visit Sai Wan beach and sunbathe with the tourists, or visit the waterfalls in the secluded part of the hill. But we opted to went back to the town and roamed around. I'll visit the beach and waterfalls one of these days.

If you missed my travel blog about Sai King Town, better check this out.

Weekend Walk At The Seafood Capital Of Hong Kong

See you in my next travel blog 😊.

(All photos are mine)

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what a nice place

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Ay taray may pa tiyan si madam ehehe. Ang ganda ng tanwin na nahing hintay jan sa inyo madams. Sulit ang paglalakad ano 😍

Sulit na sulit madam

Beautiful view! It must have been hot and humid at this time of the year.

Yes it was . but worth it. 🥰

Wow, what an incredible place, and what a great adventure.
The photo with the butterfly is so perfect 😍.

Thanks for the tweet 🥰

You are very welcome 🤗



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The reservoir is so beautiful!
I can imagine the heat of the sun but looking at your outfits, it seems it's been resolved somehow 😅
Nice place!

Haha. Nangitim ang tiyan jan🤣

The best highlight for me is the butterfly in the photo. It was rare. Is the reservoir's water color aquamarine? Can't wait to visit Hongkong too.

turquoise ang color. First time ko makakita nun..

Incredible! This is my kind of day. This makes me want to take a trip to Hong Kong as well. Great post with breathtaking photos.

You should visit this place too 🙂

Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Daily Travel Digest #1616.

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Another beautiful adventure you had sis! Sipag nyo rin maglakad ano hehe. Pero super worth it with all those views you had up there. Mukhang di na takot yung travel buddy mo na tumayo sa mataas na bato, lol!

I want to see the beach and the waterfalls too, ate!
The place is stunning, this made me want to visit the place too huhu

Next time..iblog ko hehe

Beautiful pictures and such an amazing place. Looks wonderful
Tremendous post, AI love it ❤️🤗💕🤗🤗❤️💕

Thank you,🥰

Yay! 🤗
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Oh wow. Who would have thought such nature was so nearby to HK?!

Haha..there are a lot more to discover

Amazing photograph ,I love the blue colour of the water and how it contrasts with the rest of the environment.

Very well made post ,I enjoyed reading it alot :).

Thank you 🥰

@jane1289 what a place OMG! so attractive and adventurous. Standing on that cliff is so risky, fearless fellows > keep up the good work and keep sharing such tremendous posts. Cheers!!

What a lovely journey you had, wish that i could do the same. 😂

Wooow, very cool post! Did you fly the drone? Love the colour of the water! Happy to see others enjoy in nature as well 😊💕

I don't have one 🤣

Does the Hong Hong water always look that colour, I wonder what the base of the reservoirs are.

No . just in this reservoir.. In others, it is green

Looks like you had a great day. Thanks for sharing.

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I don't know much about it though,

You will have all the information on the project by clicking on one of the provided links in my comment.
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Sure..thanks

Done 🥰

Aaahh how I miss climbing too.. Thanks for sharing this @jane1289. beautiful people with a very beautiful background.🤗

Welcome. Thanks for dropping by too 😊

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oh my gosh Jane!!!!!!!!!!!!!

look at that water!!!! I love that you get to go SO many places to travel and bring us along with you! but that water!!!!!!!!! oh how I would love to see it with my own eyes and stand there with you! hehehe

and you always look so beautiful in your cute outfits heheheheh

Hehe.. I was even curious and want to touch the water 🤣.. Looks artificial 🤣..
It was such a paradise and I want to visit the place again to visit the beach and waterfalls..
Thanks btw 🙂

i would want to taste it. even though its probably disgusting hahahahahahaha

my mind says "but just try it" ROFLLLLLLLLLLl

I love the narrow paths and being so close to nature at every step! What a beautiful trip you had! ❤️

Indeed it was.. Thanks for stopping by 🙂

The views of and on that rock formation are spectacular well worth the long and arduous adventure to get there

Wow, what a fantastic area and view over the land and the water reservoires! And tho e photo with the butterfly! How did you catch this? Just great.
Thankful, that @raymondspeaks curated your post, so I didnt miss it out !LUV

It was my friend who took the photo and she didn't know that there was a butterfly too until I scanned my photos. Really a perfect timing hehe

Hey @jane1289! Quite an adventure you had on your hike. I love all the pictures you have shared here. Beautiful sights! Did you experience vertigo while in top of the hills and stones? 😄 I don't think I could manage that.
Nicely done. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 !PIZZA

Nope. I like climbing 🤣

Definitely beautiful and scary those shots on the high stones, you are very brave, but without a doubt the butterfly stole the show. Incredible all your walk. Thanks for sharing

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

I had no idea Hong Kong was so big! Beautiful landscape!

Have you considered making videos of such outtings! I recon you could do very well.

Thanks for sharing!

I want to. But don't have much time when I made this. I'll upload the video one of these days 😁

I can imagine. You work very hard and video editing takes a lot of time. Maybe someday, right?

Have a great weekend!

Yeah 🙂

What beauties of images, a colorful visual tour that includes you as the perfect adornment for these exuberant landscapes. Delighted.

PIZZA!

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@jane1289 it is a nice place to visit and your photos are also attractive in such a beautiful place. I found your post on @dreemport, and it brought me here.
Thank you for sharing this nice place