MacLehose Trail

MacLehose Trail
麥理浩徑
Starting point of the MacLehose Trail
Length100 kilometres (62 miles)
LocationNew Territories, Hong Kong
TrailheadsPak Tam Chung, Sai Kung District
Tuen Mun, Tuen Mun District
UseHiking
Highest pointTai Mo Shan (957 m (3,140 ft))
Lowest pointsea level
DifficultyDifficult
Seasonall year
SightsHong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark
Tai Lam Chung Reservoir
Map overview
Map
MacLehose Trail
Traditional Chinese麥理浩徑
Simplified Chinese麦理浩径
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMàilǐhào Jìng
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationMahk léih houh ging
JyutpingMak6 lei5 hou6 ging3

The MacLehose Trail is a 100-kilometre hiking trail that crosses much of the New Territories, Hong Kong, starting from Pak Tam Chung, Sai Kung District in the east to Tuen Mun Town, Tuen Mun District in the west. It is the longest trail in Hong Kong and the path is marked by distance posts at 500-metre intervals. The trail is named after Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, the longest-serving governor of Hong Kong, who established the Country Parks and was himself an enthusiastic hiker. The trail passes through a variety of natural scenery including beaches and mountains.

The MacLehose Trail starts in Pak Tam Chung, then weaves its way anticlockwise around the Sai Kung peninsula. It then hugs the Sai Kung district border with Sha Tin, until it meets the mountains separating Kowloon and the New Territories. The trail proceeds along the mountain range, culminating in an ascent up to the highest point in Hong Kong, Tai Mo Shan. The trail then winds its way to Tuen Mun in the western end of the New Territories, following a catchwater for much of its last section.