Wanchai to Aberdeen Reservoir Hike HONG KONG
This was one of the longer hikes we did in Hong Kong. It’s not very difficult if you pace yourself but it does take up about 2 to 2.5-and-half hours. The best part about this hike is you get to see so many different scenery and terrain ranging from the Hong Kong Island skyline, a culturally significant rock (the Lover’s Rock), and the yellow dunes along with the manmade lakes from the reservoir. If you are lucky, you may even get to see wild boars along the way like we did!
Quick Recap
Difficulty: 3/5 due to the hill climb during the first half of the hike
Duration: 2-2.5 hours
Distance: 5km
How to Get There and the Path to Take
Starting Point
Take the MTR to Wanchai Station and walk to the Hopewell Center. Once inside the Center, take the elevator in the Hopewell Center to the 17th floor, the exit will lead you to Kennedy Road, which is half way up the hills. If you would like to walk all the way up there it’s obviously do-able too!
Mid-Point of the Hike
Follow Kennedy Road and signs towards Wanchai Gap Park. You will enter a paved uphill trail. The slope is quite steep so be sure to take your time and pace yourself! We were walking pretty quickly in the first 20 minutes up the hill and felt exhausted very quickly. But then again, we are not in the best shape these days…
Quick Detour to Lover’s Rock
Once up the hill, you have the option to continue up towards Wanchai Gap Park towards Aberdeen Reservoir or continue straight ahead towards the Lover’s Rock. If you have time and are in the mood for exploring, I do recommend taking this quick detour as the hike towards the Lover’s Rock consists of views of the Wanchai skyline. Not your typical Hong Kong skyline but beautiful nonetheless.
You will notice little ground-level temples once you are close to Lover’s Rock. We went on Valentine’s Day and there were at least 20 couples who were waiting in line to pay homage to the rock - I suppose it’s a rock/God that gives blessings to lovers, hence the name (?). There is also an old couple selling incense prior to the narrow steps up to the rock for your worshipping needs :)
Lovers Waiting in Line to Pray at Lover’s Rock, Wanchai
Wanchai Gap Park to Aberdeen Reservoir
To continue onwards toward Aberdeen Reservoir, head back towards Wanchai Gap Park and continue uphill. Continue about 20-minutes, you will reach the end of the hike and a parking area and entrance to Aberdeen Reservoir
Views from Hike from Wanchai Gap Park to Aberdeen Reservoir
Aberdeen Reservoir
It’s interesting that almost all of the reservoirs in Hong Kong have the yellow sand dunes-like features around the man-made lakes from the reservoir. This one is smaller than a few of the others, such as Shing-Mun Reservoir and Tai Tam Reservoir that we have been to in the past. But very nice area to walk around -in fact if you are lazy, you can head straight to Aberdeen Reservoir and walk around in the park.
Views from Aberdeen Reservoir Hike
Spotted: Wild Boar at Aberdeen Reservoir
I’m not sure why but I didn’t feel quite at peace and the Reservoir gave me a not very auspicious vibe. But that was quickly dissipated by the sudden appearance of a wild boar! She was huge and her fur was super shiny with a nice coat of natural oil. She found some bread that other hikers have left behind. Such a cutie! Luckily, she was standing on the other side of a narrow water channel so couldn’t physically come close to us but she was close enough for us to observe her in detail. Thank goodness because even though she was adorable, I definitely would’ve been a little bit scared by this piggy!
The Aberdeen Reservoir has the Upper and Lower Reservoirs. We walked around the Upper Reservoir and headed towards Aberdeen to go back home. The walk from Upper Reservoir to Aberdeen neighborhood center was about half an hour.
And there you have it!
