Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak — to Hong Kong simply "the Peak" — is the 552-metre hill at the western end of Hong Kong Island, and from its upper slopes one of the most famous city views on Earth opens up: a wall of skyscrapers packed along the shore of Victoria Harbour, the water crowded with ferries, and beyond it the towers of Kowloon rolling back to the hills of the New Territories. Turn the other way and the view changes character entirely, falling away to the south over green slopes to Aberdeen, Lamma Island and the open sea. Few places show so sharply how a dense metropolis is squeezed between mountains and water.

The hill was known in the colonial era as Mount Austin, and in Chinese as Tai Ping Shan. In the nineteenth century its cooler air drew wealthy Europeans, and from 1904 to 1930 the Peak Reservation Ordinance set it apart as a residential district barred to Chinese residents — a restriction that lasted in practice until 1947. The Governor kept a summer residence, Mountain Lodge, near the summit; the house is gone, but its site is now Victoria Peak Garden, a Victorian-style park with lawns and pavilions. The true summit is occupied by telecommunications equipment, so the classic views are taken from terraces and paths just below it.

Much of the Peak's character comes from the Peak Tram, a funicular opened in 1888 that transformed the Peak from a remote hill into part of the city. At the upper terminus stands the Peak Tower, a postmodern building by the British architect Terry Farrell completed in 1997, with a bowl-like, wok-shaped roof and the Sky Terrace 428 observation deck, named for its height above sea level. The finest way to take in the scenery, though, is the level loop along Lugard Road and Harlech Road, a path along the hillside that circles the Peak with the harbour spread out below — at dusk, as the lights come on, it is unforgettable.

Getting there

The Peak rises directly above Central; the Mid-Levels district lies about 1 km away. The Peak Tram climbs from Central, the nearest MTR station; Peak Road carries buses and taxis, and walkers can climb by Old Peak Road or the Central Green Trail. Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is about 24 km away.