Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls hike is one of the most popular trails in Tai Po. There is, of course, waterfalls, and it also links up to Tai Mo Shan, the highest mountain in Hong Kong. If you want to chase waterfalls on a well-appointed trail, feel some jungle vibe, and then have the option to hike up to Tai Mo Shan or return back to the bus stop, this is the hike for you.
Ng Tung Chai Hike Summary
Time taken: 3-4 hours, 4-5 hours if you’re going up to Tai Mo Shan
Ng Tung Chai hike difficulty: 3/5 – add 0.5 if you’re going up to Tai Mo Shan
Pros: the trail is paved, relatively easy to follow with beautiful waterfalls
Cons: quite popular, the trail start is a bit out of the way
Things to know about the Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls Hike
As the best Tai Po Waterfalls and one of the most popular Hong Kong waterfalls, it’s a trail that attracts a lot of hikers.
You can dip your feet in the waterfalls, but I’d advice against swimming there because of the human traffic and most of the pools are relatively shallow. There are other streams like Ping Nam and Wang Chung Streams that are better for that.
You should also bring insect repellent as this is a forested area, and plenty of water in the summer.
How to get to Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls trail start
The Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls start at the northern foothills of Tai Mo Shan east of Kadoorie Farm. It’s behind the Ng Tung Chai Village.
Pak Ngau Shek Start for Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls hike
Pak Ngau Shek
Follow it up and it’ll take you to the village suare, where there’s a public bathroom. From there, go towards the right where it’ll take you to the trail that goes to Man Tak Yuen.
Ng Tung Chai Bus Stop start for Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls Hike
It’s actually better to get off at Ng Tung Chai Bus stop, where you just follow the meandering main road to the trail start. Both of the trails meet at the back of Ng Tung Chai village.
Ng Tung Chai Village to Man Tak Yuen Temple
From the back of Ng Tung Chai village is a path with many signposts that leads to the Man Tak Yuen Temple.
It’s a narrow but gently uphill hike that serves well as a warm-up. You can see down to the valley and the river from the trail, and it almost feels like you’re in Bali.
The Man Tak Yuen Temple is a Taoist temple and the trail start for the Ng Tung Chai waterfalls hike is right by the entrance.
There is a little courtyard in front of it that makes for a good resting spot if you need to take a break.
Ng Tung Chai Waterfalls Hike
The trail for the Ng Tung Chai hike is well shaded and started off as stairs, then it’s mostly paved by rocks. There are four main waterfalls along the Ng Tung Chai trail, with the Main Fall being the tallest waterfall.
Bottom Fall
It’s not a long walk to the Bottom Fall, only about 20 minutes from Man Tak Yuen. It’s not directly along the main trail, we had to go down from a junction in order to go to the Bottom Fall.
There is a signpost there to remind you, so you won’t accidentally miss it.
The Bottom Fall is my favourite because of the three tiers of narrow streams, and it also has a Bali vibe like we’re transported into a lush jungle.
To continue the hike go back up to the junction and carry on up.
Middle Fall
From Bottom Fall to Middle Fall is only another ten minutes or so. It’s also not along the main trail but only a short distance from a junction.
This one is more in the open with a smaller pool under the fall.
The trek from Middle Fall to Main Fall is the longest and the hardest. It took us 30 minutes and there are two stretches of painful switchbacks that were exhausting.
Bonus: Choi Hung Fall
At one of the switchbacks, there’s a small trail that extends to the left that leads to the Choi Hung Fall. It’s not as pretty or big, but it’s a cute little stop if you want to take a break.
Luckily, there were some flatter stretches and even some downhill sections that allowed us to catch our breath.
Main Fall
The main fall is the biggest open space on the Ng Tung Chai hike and the waterfall is also the tallest.
There is a viewing platform just before the turn to the bottom of the falls, but the trail actually continues on the other side of the waterfall.
Scatter Fall
It takes less than 10 minutes to go to the Scatter Fall, which is just left of the trail this time!
You don’t have to turn back around to hike out, just keep going up and there are some quite brutal stone stairs that eventually lead to a flat trail lined with bamboos on the right side.
We also walked through an abandon house, which is kind of cool.
Tai Mo Shan-Ng Tung Chai Trail Junction
Once we are at the junction, you can return down to Ng Tung Chai village with the right trail, or take the trail to the left for Tai Mo Shan
Hi, my name is Nam. I am 24 and spent half my life in Hong Kong and the other half in UK. I believe there's endless experience and beauty in the world and this is me chronicling how to experience the best at the best price.
中文 (香港)
