Tai To Yan: a Hong Kong razor ridge hike

Tai To Yan trail in Tai Po is one of the most popular trails in the area, running roughly north to south and offering a panorama of New Territories and even Shenzhen east and west of it. The name Tai To Yan in Cantonese is a reference to the razor-like ridge that characterise this trail. It is a good hike that can be done in half a day and here’s how to hike it:

Tai To Yan Hike in Summary:

Difficulty: 3.5/5

Time taken: 4 hours

Pros: amazing view of the surrounding area with razor ridge, and relatively easy to reach via public transport

Cons: a lot of stairs!

How to get to Tai To Yan

The Tai To Yan trail is relatively straightforward between Kadoorie Farm and Fanling East Rail Station, with either acting as starting or end point. Usually, we hike from Kadoorie Farm as the ascent is easier and also to let ourselves end at the Rail station directly without taking the bus out.

Kadoorie Farm start

Exit A at Tai Wo

Take exit A into the shopping mall and follow the sign and go down to the bus station via the stairs. The bus stop for 64K towards Yuen Long should be just across from the staircase. The Kadoorie Farm stop is about 25 minutes in, make sure to watch out for the station.

From the bus stop, simply cross the road and the trail start is before the reverse route bus stop. Look out for the signboard if you are unsure:

Fanling East Rail Station start

From Fanling East Rail station, take exit B and take the skywalk. Once you get down, cross under the subway and the trail start is the slope that goes up. This section is known as the Butterfly path (Wu Tip Shan Path).

Since we always take the path from Kadoorie Farm, this will focus on how to hike from this way:

Tai To Yan

The first half an hour of the trail consists mostly of uphill climbs, with mostly stairs and trees sheltering the way.

You’ll also pass a small radio/signal station where there is a small section of downhill.

Once you hike above the foliages, you’ve reached the beginning of the Tai To Yan and that’s the end of the first (and toughest) ascent.

The mountain you see to the left is Kai Kung Leng, and if the pollution isn’t bad you can also see all the way to Shenzhen. To the right is Tai Po.

The trail then undulates for a bit before reaching the razor ridge that gives it its name. It’s easy to see when you have reached this path as it is marked by massive rock outcrops.

This part of the trail is narrower, so definitely be a bit more careful especially if there are people coming from the other way.

We discovered a sturdy looking rock on the ridge that faces west and makes for a good photo spot!

From the ridge, it’s a relatively straight path to the peak of Tai To Yan, which stands at 566m above sea level.

The trail then quickly dips down where it continues to North Tai To Yan.

North Tai To Yan

This is perhaps the most leisurely part of the trail, with the path undulating all the way to North Tai To Yan.

But don’t expect too much of a view at the peak as there are many vegetation around it.

Wu Tip Shan Path

Continuing on, the majority of the way is shaded and well signposted, but there are two diverging paths that are a little ambiguous, but basically keep to the left and you should be fine:

Once you reach this part with a green fence and concrete paved path, it signifies the beginning of the end of the trail.

While it’s mostly downhill, there is a big section of stairs that goes up:

There are several pavilions and rest points along the way from here, many are newly decorated and act as viewpoints as well.

Before you end the trail, there’s another small peak at 256 – Kei Lak Tsai, marked by the white-black pillar.

Huge signs with end destinations are abundant at this stage so it’s easy to follow. But here are the key turns just in case:

Once you reach the arched sign, you are almost at the end with the path taking you straight to the subway that connects to Fanling Station!