HK’S FIFTH HIKING TRAIL

If you’re a walking/running enthusiast who’s in the midst of tackling Hong Kong’s “Big Four” hiking trails (not all at once!), the good news is that there’s another 90 or so kilometres of trail for you to add on when you complete the Hong Kong Trail, Wilson Trail, Lantau Trail and MacLehose Trail. Here are five things to know about the Tinworth Trail!

The trail is named in honour of Nic Tinworth, a running

#1 enthusiast in Hong Kong and a legend of the sport here; Nic helped enormously in the growth of the HK running community through social media and event organisation. He died in 2020 after battling a brain tumour.

Known as the “unofficial 5th Trail”, the Tinworth Trail is 97.22km

#2 long, and involves a vertical gain of 4,828m. It’s divided into 10 sections.

The starting point is Hong Kong’s northernmost town, Sha

#3 Tau Kok, on the border with mainland China, while the finishing point is all the way down in Tai O on Lantau.

While you might expect plenty of crossover with the four

#4 established trails, in fact, only 4km of the Tinworth Trail includes sections of those main paths. Highlights along the way include Robin’s Nest, Tai To Yan, the Yuen-Tsuen Ancient Trail, Lo Fu Tau, Wong Lung Hang Valley and the Tung O Ancient Trail.

Because it’s an unofficial route, the Tinworth Trail isn’t

#5 signposted. To get started, visit tinworthtrail.com and download the GPX coordinates file to your smartphone or watch – you can then follow the trail as you go, using an app such as Hiking Trail HK.