Lantau South Country Park

Location: South side of Lantau Island

Fact file:

• There are two country parks on Lantau; the other is called – you guessed it! – Lantau North Country Park.

• At 56 square kilometres, this is Hong Kong’s largest country park. That’s equivalent to around three-quarters of the area of Hong Kong Island (78 square kilometres).

• Lantau South Country Park is renowned for its sunsets. There’s even a Sunset Peak – Tai Tung Shan, Hong Kong third-highest mountain. (Nearby Lantau Peak is the second-highest.) The quickest route to the top is probably from Pak Kung Au – it’s a 2km uphill climb (including a thigh-burning 400 steps right at the start!). Of course, if you stay to take in the sunset, you’re going to need a good torch for the return journey…

• The 12-stage, 70km Lantau Trail passes through the park.

• Ngong Ping, on the high northern edge of the country park, is where you’ll find Po Lin Monastery and the famous 34-metre Tian Tan Buddha.

What else?

This country park is home to several of Hong Kong’s rare fauna, including the barking deer (actual name: Northern Red Muntjac), which hides deep in the forested slopes, and the cute and quick-moving Pallas’s Tree Squirrel.