Northern New Territories

The northern New Territories are accessed easily by the KCR and stretch up to the Hong Kong border at LoWu, offering distractions such as theWishing Trees at Tai Po, Kadoorie Farm and the walled village at Fanling along the way. In the east, Plover Cove Country Park is a lovely area, while wildlife is the focus of the new Wetland Park in the west, and ornithologists will delight in the Mai Po Marshes.

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, Lam Kam Road, Tai Po. Established in the early 1950s, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Gardens is a vast green sanctuary set on one of Hong Kong’s highest peaks (Kwun Yum Shan) and gives the opportunity to see some of the region’s fantastic flora and fauna. The project was set up by the wealthy Jewish brothers, Horace and Lawrence Kadoorie, with the aim of promoting self-reliance and sustainable agriculture in the dwindling local farming community. All visitors must call in advance to arrange a visit. Guided tours of the park run with a minimum of 20 people or you can join the tourist office’s Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden Experience Tour on Mondays. To get here without a tour, take the KCR to TaiWo and then a 20- minute bus ride on route #64K to the park.

The Wishing Trees, Lam Tsuen Village, Tai Po. Just 20 minutes from Tai Po Market, Lam Tsuen valley contains the extraordinary Tai Po wishing trees. These large Chinese banyans (see Flora, p. 36) offer the chance for your wishes to come true and are a popular pilgrimage site. To try your hand, you need to throw a brightly colored streamer attached to an orange (known as bao die) into the branches. Only if your orange stays in the tree will your wish come true, so it’s worth watching the locals first! If your bao die falls back to the ground, superstition says you were too greedy with your wish. It’s a particularly busy spot throughout the Chinese New Year celebrations, with people from all over the region visiting to make their New Year’s wishes come true.

Plover Cove Country Park, Tai Mei Tuk. This country park centers on a reservoir that was created when a former sea bay was dammed in the 1960s. The park has a variety of hiking trails offering fine views, pretty pools and perhaps even a glimpse of Hong Kong’s largest fauna, including barking deer. Routes include the Pat Sin Leng Nature Trail from Tai Mei Tuk to Bride’s Pools and a marked circular walk around the park which takes an hour to complete. There’s a hostel and visitor center in Tai Mei Tuk.

Hong Kong Wetland Park. Hong Kong’s Wetland Park opened to great fanfare in May 2006 offering visitors the opportunity to experience some of the region’s most precious habitats. Its first few months were marred by the actions of a few visitors who clearly couldn’t care less about the environment as they noisily discarded litter into the wetlands. Measures have since been taken to educate the un-environmentally savvy and the park is big enough to ensure that you get a chance to be at one with nature; but try to come during the week to avoid the crowds. The park contains a visitor center and some 150 acres of wetlands to explore, all well laid-out with boardwalks, lookout towers and viewing decks. There are so many different routes through the park that you should pick up a map from the visitors center so you can find your way. To get here you can join the tourist office Wetland Park tour (contact the tourist office) or jump on the KCR to Tin Shui Wai and change onto the light rail to the Wetlands Park.