MacLehose Trail

The MacLehose Trail opened in 1979 and runs a hundred kilometres across the New Territories in ten numbered sections, from Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung in the east to Tuen Mun in the west, crossing country parks, reservoirs, the Sai Kung coast, Ma On Shan, Tai Mo Shan and a long series of ridges. Distance posts every five hundred metres make navigation straightforward and provide reference points for rescue. Most people walk it in sections over months rather than end to end. Once a year it is run as a team endurance event in which the fastest complete the full distance in well under fifteen hours, which puts the terrain in perspective for anyone who has walked a section of it.

What you actually see

• Ten sections across the territory - a hundred kilometres east to west.
• The Sai Kung coastal opening - beaches and headlands on sections one and two.
• Distance posts every 500 metres - the markers used for navigation and rescue.
• The annual team endurance event - the full distance run in under a day.

When to go

November to March; summer heat and humidity make long sections genuinely hazardous. Two days for the fastest through-walkers, a week at a reasonable pace, or single sections as day walks.

Honest expectations

Summer attempts cause heatstroke cases every year. Water points are scarce and unreliable on several sections. Camping is restricted to designated sites. Some sections are steep, stepped and hard on knees, and transport at section ends can be infrequent.

Nearby

Sai Kung is at the eastern end; Tuen Mun at the western.