Sai Kung and the Geopark

Sai Kung is the answer to anyone who thinks Hong Kong is only concrete: a peninsula of country parks, offshore islands and beaches on a scale that surprises most first-time visitors. The UNESCO Global Geopark protects its strangest feature - cliffs of hexagonal volcanic columns, formed in an ancient eruption and best seen from the water at High Island Reservoir's east dam, where they curve like organ pipes above the sea. Beyond them lie Tai Long Wan's white-sand bays, reached only on foot or by boat, and a scatter of islands served by sampans hired from the old fishing town's waterfront.

What you actually see

• High Island east dam - the hexagonal rock columns and sea caves.
• Tai Long Wan - the surf beaches most visitors call Hong Kong's finest.
• Sai Kung waterfront - the fishing town, sampan hires and island boats.
• The country park trails - MacLehose Trail sections through hills above the coast.

When to go

Autumn to spring for hiking and boat trips; the sea stays swimmable well into November. Summer works for beach days but the hikes turn brutal in humidity. Weekends bring both crowds and the full fleet of island boats - weekdays are quieter but with fewer departures.

Honest expectations

Distances here are bigger than the map suggests: Tai Long Wan is a two-hour walk in from the nearest road, or a boat charter, so decide in advance which way you are getting there. Boat operators quote per-trip rather than per-person, which makes small groups expensive and larger ones cheap. Typhoon season can close boat services entirely with little warning.

Nearby

Clearwater Bay, the MacLehose Trail's coastal sections and the fishing village of Po Toi O are all in the same peninsula.