Ping Nam Stream: hidden waterfall in Hong Kong

Last updated on December 10th, 2020 at 02:22 pm

Ping Nam Stream is the name of the river that flows from Ping Fung Shan towards Nam Chung deep in Fanling near Bride’s Pool and Wu Gau Tong hike. Chasing waterfalls is something that I never thought I’d do in Hong Kong, yet it has become an essential summer activity because of how hot it gets in Hong Kong.

There is an easy way to hike Ping Nam and a hard way. Right now I’ve only done the easy way:

Ping Nam Stream hike summary

Time taken: while walking in and out only takes an hour or so, you need to factor in the commuting time. I’d say expect to spend half a day there.

Difficulty: 1.5/5 – need to be careful getting in and out of the waterfalls

Pros: a short hike can bring you to beautiful pools and waterfalls that’s perfect for a cooling dip. Gives a sense of secludedness the higher up you go.

Cons: the minibus that goes in runs infrequently. Since it’s a short hike, it tends to get quite crowded at lv 1.

Note: Please do not cliff jump. While there are many who do it, the pools here tend to either be on the shallow or narrow side.

Here is a vlog of our hike to Ping Nam Stream:

Getting to Ping Nam Stream

Make your way to Fanling East Rail Station, where you have two choice:

• If you are a group of 4-5, take a taxi to Nam Cheng, which shouldn’t cost more than 90 HKD
• Exit to the minibus station and head to the furthest lane by the pedestrian bridge to queue for the 56K minibus to Luk Keng.

The 56k minibus runs around every half hour, which is why I recommend taking a taxi!

Watch out for where to get off if you are on the minibus as the driver will most likely speed on ahead to Luk Keng. The ride takes around 15 minutes and you get off before the minibus cross a bridge near a pavilion.

P.S. if you did end up in Luk Keng, it’s a 15-20 minutes walk back so not a huge issue

Nam Chung to Nam Chung Country Trail

If you need to use the bathroom, there is a public bathroom at Nam Chung that’s better than the one further in. head down the lane that goes perpendicular to the main road into Nam Chung.

Watch out for cars as this is a working road.

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Either side of the road are ponds and mangroves, with the trail start easy to spot.

Nam Chung Country Trail and Ping Nam Stream

Go up the country trail which is well paved by rocks and relatively easy to hike and follow.

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The first pool is right by the path and easy to see, let’s just call this lv 1.

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Usually, there are a lot of people at lv 1 because it’s easy to get to with a large pool. But if you want somewhere more secluded, keep going up!

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Keep an eye out on the right side of the Nam Chung Country Trail for offshoots that’ll take you to the pool.

Let’s call this lv 2 – we then continued up for a longer period of time before we found another offshoot that lead us back towards the stream. Of course, you can scramble up the rocks but it’s not that safe, really.

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This is where we found lv 5, where you can scramble down to lv 4 and 3′

There are already some people at lv 5 so we went down to lv 4:

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Ping Nam Stream

The stream continues down to the dam where you would be able to get close to and see if you continue down the road from the Nam Chung Country Trail start. Most of the waterfalls photos/videos you see online are the lower end (so down from lv 1). 

To hike this path, you’ll need to scramble up the rocks and sometimes in the water. It is not recommended to do that if it has been raining or if you are not experienced.

Getting out of Nam Chung Country Trail

Simply head out the way you came.

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However, getting out from Nam Chung is not easy since the minibus starts from Luk Keng, which is often full already.

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You can try to call a taxi or walk to Luk Keng and queue for the minibus there. There are several small restaurants and local cafes to eat, too, if you are hungry or thirsty.

In particular, the tofu fa at the restaurant by the minibus station is quite famous.