West Kau Nga(934m)

Kau Nga Ling have been popular among hikers who love climbing. They are described as 'kau nga'(dog's teeth) since the routes are in teeth shape, going up and down with steep slope; while paths are more flat, gentle but irregular on the ridges. There are three 'Kau Nga' in total which leads up to the summit of Lantau Peak, East Kau Nga, Mid Kau Nga and West Kau Nga, with the latter one requires most climbing effort despite it being the shortest. West Kau Nga consists of four 'teeth' and joins the other 'teeth' at 'Lifeline' which is a magnificent spot, illustrating how narrow the pathway is such that each step must be taken with extra conscious so as to prevent one from falling down the cliff.

The panoramic picture above is taken when I was standing on the 'fourth tooth' of the West Dog Teeth.

I was joined by two friends today. We gathered in Tung Chung Exit B, and took Lantau Bus No. 11A, to Shui Hau Helicopter Landing Field. Then, we walked along South Lantau Road in the direction of Ngong Ping for around 15 minutes, before we arrived Shek Pik Barbecue Area Site. We crossed the bridge over catchwater afterwards and began our journey along Bernacchi Trail.

After we walked pass the entrances of Mid Kau Ngau, West Kau Nga Hang, and signpost C1506, we had the view of Shek Pik Reservoir straight in front of us, which implies behind us was therefore the entrance of West Kau Nga.

From the entrance of West Kau Nga, we acknowledged the fact that the route would be climbing with bare arms and bare legs without the help of any equipment or guiding ribbons. There was no other route but just constantly reaching up from 200m above sea level to 810m above sea level. We climbed over four teeth and came to Lifeline and took a big rest.

Afterwards, we continued our way up Yim Wong Pik, which was the most demanding part during our journey today because it required climbing from 600m height to 810m height without flattening out. Then we arrived 'the Bird Rock' before getting rest at Tsam Chai Au.

'The Bird Rock' is one of the most well-known rock for photography whenever hikers walked along West Dog Teeth up to Lantau Peak. However, please be aware if you would like to climb up onto the rock like what I did since it is a cliff right at the gap between the 'bird' and the massive rock next to it. Also, the steps to get up is huge, it would be easy to slip down if you do not think about your ways up and down beforehand.

Since we started late, around 14:00, as a result, we ended late. Once we all arrived Tsam Chai Au, it was already 18:00. In order to reach the ground before the sky turned dark, we decided not to follow our original plan: to hike up to the summit of Lantau Peak, walk along the Lantau Trail and depart from Pak Kung Au. Instead, we walked down the stairs, still following the Lantau Trail though, down to the junction where entrances of Wisdom Path, Bernacchi Trail and Lantau Trail are. Afterwards, we walked in the direction towards Ngong Ping Road along the road outside Po Lin Monastery. Lastly, we headed back to Tung Chung MTR Station via Taxi since it was after the last Lantau Bus No. 23, service time at 19:10.

Source from New Lantao Bus, http://www.nib.com.hk/