Lantau Island

Why Lantau Island works

Lantau, Hong Kong's largest outlying island, holds two of the territory's most distinct half-day trips within a short drive of each other. The Tian Tan Buddha — 34 metres of bronze, seated atop a three-tiered lotus base on the Ngong Ping plateau — has watched over the surrounding hills since 1993, reached either by a 268-step climb or the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, a 5.7-kilometre ride over Lantau's forested slopes and the airport runway below that ranks among Hong Kong's best scenic journeys in its own right. Po Lin Monastery at the Buddha's base remains a working Buddhist monastery rather than a museum, its incense-filled halls and vegetarian restaurant open to visitors alongside monks in daily practice. A short drive or bus ride away, Tai O fishing village preserves a version of Hong Kong that has mostly vanished elsewhere: stilted houses built directly over tidal creeks, a working fish-drying trade, and boat tours that occasionally spot the rare Chinese white (pink) dolphin in the surrounding waters. Lantau's interior also holds Hong Kong's longest hiking trail, the Lantau Trail, and Discovery Bay's quieter, car-free residential enclave. Together, Buddha, monastery and fishing village make Lantau feel like several different Hong Kongs compressed into one island, all reachable within a single day from Central.

Trip Snapshot

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