Island walk: from Discovery Bay to Mui Wo

Date: 10 March 2013

Route: Discovery Bay – Trappist Haven Monastery (神學院） – Mui Wo

This walk on Lantau Island  is not too hard if you walk from Discovery Bay, a haven for expatriates, to Mui Woo,  but can be very challenging if it is in the opposite direction, i.e. from Mui Woo to Discovery Bay. There are too many steps like these to overcome. I dare you to try. But all the efforts are worth it – the scenery of the route is very enchanting. I started from Discovery Bay, choosing the easier way. The village life first came into sight, with farming lands and village houses surrounded by flowers and plants. It is spring time, seeing colorful flowers and fresh green leaves in their glory. The path leading to Trappist Haven Monastery blew me away, as the scent from Sweet Osmanthus trees filled the air. The Monastery area is very peaceful. You should spend a while in in its garden, just for a quiet moment with yourself. The Monastery is known among the locals because it once produced fresh milk branded Trappist Diary and sold all over Hong Kong. Trappist Diary is now Hong Kong’s second biggest brand in terms of sales of fresh milk. However, nowadays the Monastery is no longer involved in the daily operation of the diary company, though it is still its major shareholder. In the old days, the Monastery had a cattle farm first in Lantau Island and then in Yuen Long, before the production was moved to mainland China. Gone were cattle farms and the days of locally produced fresh milk.

Let’s get back to the trail. After reaching the Monastery, I started walking uphill, and having overcome a long  and steep staircase, I finally reached the hill top with a panoramic view. Then it is all going downhill with still amazing views unfolding. I felt my legs shaking when I finally had walked down the many steps and reached Mui Wo. The hike is about 2.5 hours.

At Mui Wo, I was again welcomed to an abundance of colors. It was a wonderful closing to the hike.  How to get to the starting point:

You can go to Sunny Bay MTR station of the West Rail Line and take bus to Discovery Bay. It is about 20 minutes before the bus takes you to the pier of Discovery Bay. The bus service is very frequent and the fare is about HK$10. Or you take ferry from Central to Discover Bay, costing  HK$34 one way, which is an outrageous price.

From the pier you walk to to the left to Discovery Bay Road, and carry on until you reach the intersection with Marina Drive (遊艇徑). Turn to the Drive -not far from the intersection and behind a booth, there lies a hidden path. That is the path to Mui Wo. A sign is put up at the starting point so you will know you are on the right track.

How to leave the finishing point:

You can take bus from Mui Wo pier to Tung Chung where you can hop on the train. Or you can take ferry from Mui Wo pier to Central. Both ferry and bus services are frequent.