Lo Fu Tau or in English “Tiger Head” is a rather scenic hike between Discovery Bay and Mui Wo. Usually, you will start this challenge at the Discovery Bay ferry station. From there you walk from Discovery Bay Road up to the Lookout Pavilion.
From the pavilion, it leads up to the Lo Fu Tau. The climb can be quite challenging. But once you have reached the top, the hike becomes much easier. It’s a pretty flat way down to Mui Wo, from where the ferry leaves to Central, Hong Kong regularly.
How to reach Lo Fu Tau
- Take the Ferry to Discovery Bay
- Walk beyond Discovery Bay Plaza, and start at Discovery Bay Road
- At the end of the road, turn left and take the Discovery Valley Road on the right side. Follow the Parkvale Village sign. Once arrived, take the staircase at Parkvale Village. Follow the stairs to Woodland Court.
- Enter the muddy path, cross some grass fields, and you will arrive at a staircase to go upwards. Follow this trail until you reach the Lookout Pavillon.
- Once you did reach the pavilion, follow the asphalt path on the back until you can see a tiny trail on the right site (around 100 meters far away). From there it leads up to the Lo Fu Tau.
- Arrived at the Lo Fu Tau – take a break. Then follow the path to Mui Wo. It will take you another, around 2 hours.
- In Mui Wo, take the ferry to Central.
A more detailed description (with pictures) of the route can be found in the blog of DimSumDaily.HK.
About the hiking distance
As usual, there are many ways to reach your destination. It’s also true for this hike. I read online about a distance of 8 km to 15 km. In our case, we needed about 10 km, according to the record of my AppleWatch.
For the whole hike, it took us a little less than 4 hours. But, we made several stops to take pictures and shoot the YouTube video linked here. I think that the hike can be done in a bit more than 3 hours without breaks. But after all, we are hiking to enjoy nature. So take your time.
Duration and Difficulty
Some websites describe the hike with a difficulty of 7.5/10. I would agree with that for the first part only. I remember that I had a pretty high pulse and needed a break during the ascent. But once you arrived at the Tiger Head viewpoint on the top, the difficulty changes to maybe 3/10. You will be able to walk to Mui Wo without significant problems.
Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments of this post. I’m happy to provide more information if needed.
