Hiking Lamma Island

Besides heading to the beach and shopping the Island, my favorite thing to do, especially these days, is go for a hike.  It's blistering hot, so short hikes are the most ideal!

My final blog post this week is on the hike that we took up to the Lamma Winds power station.  This is basically the huge windmill that sits atop one of the hills of Lamma Island.  This hike is:

1.  Uphill

2.  Less than an hour one way

3.  Leads to a pretty breezy windmill

4.  Is family/kid friendly

5.  Is paved all the way

6.  Harbors trees on both sides of the path for those who are looking for shade

7.  AND has a nice little tofu fa shop to visit along the way

It's pretty easy to find the trail, just follow the signs all the way up to the windmill.

The route travels through a bit of the villages and has a bunch of shops to refill on water as you meander along.

Getting away from the villages and more towards the incline, more picturesque scenes of nature are surrounding the path to Lamma Winds.

There are crazy huge spiderwebs all over the island, especially up on the hill going towards the windmill.

We headed out on this hike in the morning, so there was a lot of shade to be seen, but as noon approached, the sun got deathly.  It was probably 31 - 32 degrees at the onset of the morning!

SUGGESTION:  During the hot Hong Kong summers, bring a hat, sunglasses, loads of water, and a towel to sop up all the sweat that will be dripping from your brow!

For a longer hike and additional exploration, there are forks in the road that lead to villages around the area.  Those might be nice to check out the next time I'm on Lamma.

The main trek up to the windmill has a pretty good incline.  It gets steeper the higher up you go.

You'll be able to spot the windmill on the last leg of the uphill hike.

It's definitely a great sight to see!  It isn't as breezy as you would think it would be up here, but there was a slight breeze when we got to the top, where we were able to cool off for about half an hour.

Lamma Winds, according to Wikipedia, is a wind farm of just one windmill!  It provides some 100 kW of power to Lamma and Hong Kong Island.

The meter on the windmill recorded ABSOLUTELY no wind as we sat there, but it did output 18 kW of power to the Island.

It's quite a nice little area to rest and maybe picnic on a cooler day.

There are also a lot of facts around the entire area about the technical particulars of the wind turbine (generator, wind vane, gear box, etc), the history of this wind turbine, and also some environmental projects that the locals had participated in.

On the way back, we stopped at the local tofu fa place.  I swear, every hiking trail that I've been on has one of these…

Tofu fa is a sweet tofu dish that is like a refreshingly cool dessert.  It was about $12 HKD and you get a dollop of syrup to make it sweeter.

It's a nice way to reward yourself after an arduous hike uphill in the blistering sun!!!

Our landmark for finding this particular tofu fa place is the painted mural opposite the outdoor shop.

The entrance is here, which may be difficult to find, but it is along the path that leads straight from the main shopping area to Hung Shing Yeh Beach.  I feel like it's a popular rest stop for a lot of people.

If you are looking for a little getaway, venturing over to Lamma for a little hike, a little exploration, and a little bit of Island cuisine is the peeeerfect way to reenergize!  It's also a great way to see a different part and view of Hong Kong!

Swimming Lamma Island

One of the popular attractions of Lamma Island is Hung Shing Yeh Beach.  It's where you go when you want to spend time relaxing, picnicking with family, or just want to get in a refreshing swim after a long hike.

It's an easy beach to find, just follow the signs and it'll lead you to the beach.

You know, you've hit Hung Shing Yeh Beach, when you see this snack and beverage kiosk on the right.  It's a great place to pick up some honey glazed barbecue corn!  (This is probably my favorite thing to get at Hong Kong Disneyland too.)

The corn is 18 HKD, but they also have barbecued pineapples, which I might try on another day.

I don't know what it is about corn, but it's just always heavenly to bite into.

Yummmm!

At the back of the kiosk is a little sitting area, where you can also rent space to barbecue your own lunch.  It also leads to Hung Shing Yeh Beach. 

Before you actually get to the beach, there are kiosks where you can pick up some beach gear:  sunscreen, straw hats, umbrellas, swim suits, and beach toys.

We actually went on a hike before we headed down to the beach for a quick swim.  This beach has the usually Hong Kong beach facilities:

1.  Shower stalls
2.  Changing rooms
3.  Bathroom area
4.  Lifeguard stations
5.  First aid station
6.  Snack and Beverage kiosks
7.  Nearby picnic/bbq areas

There are also a few little spots of shade for those who prefer to be out of the sun.

The sand is a lithe grainy, but that's normal, I feel.  I think the most rocky sand I've ever walked on was probably up in Tuen Mun.

The beach sort of rests alongside the power station/treatment facilities.

There are areas of the beach that kids might find nice to explore, like this little river that lets out to the ocean.

There is also a bit of rocks and boulders that can be climbed on both sides of the beach.  They're great areas to explore as well.

To the side of the beach, which also heads over to Sok Kwu Wan, there is a little barbecue area, with really nice tables and benches.

Here's another view of the power station from the rocks to the side of the beach.

It's pretty hot these days.  So, it's always a great idea to head down to the beach and splash around in the water.  It's especially great to be able to have water and cold drinks accessible through out the day at this beach!

Right now, since school is still in session, it seems like Lamma Island isn't as crowded as usual.  So, I would take full advantage of taking a trip out here, if not to chill on the beach, perhaps to take a little hike and explore the island!

Exploring Lamma Island

Lamma Island is my number one destination for a weekend getaway.  It's got everything I love:

1.  Little shops

2.  Little grocery stores

3.  A beach

4.  Little hostels

5.  Hiking trails

6.  And a good variety of foods to try!

Lamma is about a half hour ferry's ride from the Central Piers.  You can go to two sides of the Island:

1.  Sok Kwu Wan

2.  Yung Shue Wan

I feel like the majority of people head over to Yung Shue Wan because it has more of the touristy attractions.  The few times that I headed over to the Sok Kwu Wan side of the Island were because I was hiking to the Yung Shue Wan side of the island.  I think, if you are in for a cross-Island hike, it's a great way to view more of Lamma (by heading over to Sok Kwu Wan and walking over to Yung Shue Wan).

Lamma Island Ferry Pier in Central

My first every trip to Lamma was basically filled with browsing shops and a lunch at the local organic restaurant on the Yung Shue Wan side of the Island.  I sort of remember it being like a little port-of-call visit…or a first trip to Jurassic World visit!  (Did anyone else get the feels when seeing Jurassic World for the first time?)  When I stepped off of the ferry, I was captivated by the lovely picturesque seen before me (captured below!).

View from the Lamma Island Ferry Pier

The short walk from the ferry pier along the Yung Shue Wan Main Street, leads to some pretty awesome dim sum/seafood restaurants and the main shopping area.

A view of the power station stacks

Shops beginning to open for the day

Great snacks to take to the beach!

Lovely ice cream for a lovely sunny day!

On the Yung Shue Wan side of Lamma, there are points of attraction signs all over the place.

To get in a good little hike, taking the route up to the Lamma Winds power station may be a fun little hour of exploration.

To get in a day at the beach, trekking down to Hung Shing Yeh Beach is definitely a great way to spend the afternoon.

The trek, which heads over to Sok Kwu Wan side of Lamma Island, can also be followed, through loads of signage, found around the Island.

Baby gifts anyone?

This Island seems to always be prepared for everything.  Whether you need a gift for a baby shower or need to pick up a floating donut for the beach, you can easily find anything while just walking to your destination.

Beach gear is a necessity!

Shop for some Lamma gear?

Two of my favorite shops are:

1.  Little Elephant (above), which has hoards of really nice clothes from Madewell to A&F, and

2.  Just Green Organic Convenience Store (below), where I tend to stock up on some precious organic goodies that I can't find so readily in the New Territories.

I also love dropping by this little snack stand, which has loads of dehydrated fruits and such.  It's a great little snack to pick up before heading out on hikes to the Lamma Winds or to Sok Kwu Wan.

For lunch, one of our absolute favorite places to eat at is the Bookworm Cafe, which opens at 1pm sharp.  It's just a little novelty eatery that my husband and I like to frequent when we head out to Lamma.  Plus, it's a great place to just sit, chill out, read through a book, and also get free wi-fi!

Our order for today was the vegan salad bowl, which was pretty nice with the red wine vinegar dressing.

We shared a guava juice.

We also ordered a set, which came with a vegetable soup of the day and...

…a wonderful lasagna, which also came with a side salad.

Stepping off of a ferry and visiting one of Hong Kong's outlaying Islands is just the most ideal way to spend the weekend, for me.  It's great to just have the luxury of time to stroll the streets and pop into shops.  It's even more awesome to revisit places that I love to shop at and have a decent lunch at.

Alas, the day on Lamma had to come to a close!

We headed back in the late afternoon and picked up some dried squid from that snack shop on the main street as a snack for the ferry ride.

Stay tuned for two more blogs about swimming and hiking Lamma this coming week!