Lantau Trail Stage 7 is a great hiking trail that offers great views as well as a good variety of trail compositions which makes the hike enjoyable throughout. Wildlife is abundant and perhaps the only let-down of this trail is the amount of concreted paths.

Quick Stats:
Enjoyment:
Difficulty:
Hike Type:	Stage Trail
Distance:	10.1 km
Maximum Height:	130 metres
Total Ascent:	340 metres
Total Descent:	250 metres
Duration:	2hrs 30mins
Trail Composition:	50% Concrete 50% Dirt
Transport Start:
Number 11 bus to Tai O Lantau Trail Stage 6 Tung Chung to Tai O hiking trail
Transport End:
Lantau Trail Stage 8

This hiking trail gets 4 stars for enjoyment as it is filled with many forms of wildlife and takes you through various different terrains, as well as offering some fantastic views. The only thing holding it back from a 5 star rating is that about 50% of the trail is along concrete paths. Difficulty also ranks in at 4 stars because although the trail has a maximum ascent of just over 300 meters, it is also very long which can be quite tiring. One must also take into consideration that at the end of this stage, you must continue onto stage 8 of Lantau Trail before reaching Shek Pik Reservoir where you can get on a bus or catch a Taxi.

The start of this trail (pictured above) can be reached by either first completing stages 5 & 6 of Lantau Trail, or by catching the number 11 bus from Tung Chung to Tai O. Once in Tai O, get off the bus and cross the road heading away from the water and take the first right down a long stretch of road (with a soccer pitch to your left) until you get to the point pictured above. Turn right, heading towards Nam Chung.

Continue straight ahead along the waterfront until you reach the fork in the road pointing to Man Cheung Po.

Turn left at the fork in the path, where the sign points to Man Cheung Po.

Views of Tai O to your right are very scenic.

You will come across many butterflies along this section of the trail. Pictured below is a Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina) Butterfly.

Soon after distance post L058 you will come to an alternate path for Lantau Trail Stage 7. The original path is straight ahead at this point, which we cover below. The reason for this alternate path is due to the fact that Stage 7 cuts through some private land which cannot be maintained by the AFCD. The path is however still hike-able with some sections being a little overgrown.

It is good to see that these camp sites actually get used along Lantau Trail.

Continue straight ahead along the waterfront until you reach what appears to be a dead end, and then turn left.

Turn left into the bushes after distance post L062.

Continue straight ahead along this section until you reach this t-intersection below. Turn left.

I spotted this near-perfect spider web hanging up across the path. It belonged to a Black-And-White Spiny Spider (Gasteracantha kuhlii), pictured below.

Ahead is another section absolutely filled with wildlife including Butterflies, Moths, Wasps & Bees. I must have spent a good hour standing in the one place photographing wildlife.

Part of this section actually ascends up what appears to be a creek bed. Be warned that in or after rain, this area can become quite flooded, with some sections reaching knee deep heights.

I was actually quite surprised to find out that this was a moth (pictured below), as I was quite certain that it must have been a wasp of some sort.

If you are up for a stroll on the beach, this is a lovely area to get off the trail, as you can walk up to 2km along the beach, exploring the washed up debris along the way as well as crabs scurrying along the sand.

Just after passing Fan Lau Sai Wan (the beach pictured above), turn left at distance post L070.

After passing through the small village of Fan Lau, continue along the mountainside by Fan Lau Tung Wan. Keep left at the junction pictured below.

Continue straight ahead toward Shek Pik (below).

Just after distance post L073, you will pass (go straight ahead) the exit of the alternate route for Lantau Trail Stage 7. We will be covering this trail at a later date.

After passing the small waterfall, where you may see several butterflies and dragonflies, the trail rises up a short hill. At the top of the hill, turn right onto the water catchment, heading towards Shek Pik.

If you fancy spotting dragonflies, keep your eyes focussed on the water catchment to your left as this is a common place for them to sit.

Lantau Trail Stage 7 ends at distance post L076, however you will have to continue onto Lantau Trail Stage 8 before you can get to any form of transport at Shek Pik Reservoir.