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Avid hikers seeking out a wilder and more challenging alternative to Dragon’s Back can look to Section 2 of the Lantau Trail. This route involves a four- to five-hour journey between the mountain pass of Pak Kung Au and the Nam Shan campsite, a short bus ride up the road from the seaside bedroom community of Mui Wo. From an improbably steep picnic site at Pak Kung Au, the initial stretch is a relentless uphill climb through the dense foliage. The trail eventually tops out at an elevation of 780 meters above sea level as it skirts the windswept upper slopes of Sunset Peak, Hong Kong’s third-highest mountain.
Here, the exposed, silvergrass-cloaked landscape makes for a stark contrast to the skyscraper canyons of the city, and a subsequent ridge comes dotted with single-story stone cabins, built a century ago as a retreat for British missionaries. On a good day, panoramic views encompass Lantau’s heavily indented coastline, smaller isles to the east and south, and, conditions permitting, even Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Occasional vistas also unfold from the gradual descent to Nam Shan—a mix of gentler inclines and weathered rock-slab stairways. The trailheads at either end are reliably served by the 3M double-decker bus between Tung Chung Station and Mui Wo Ferry Pier, which both have direct links to Central. —James Louie
<a href="https://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/country/cou_vis/cou_vis_cou/cou_vis_cou_ln/cou_vis_cou_ln.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">afcd.gov.hk</a> 
<a href="https://goo.gl/maps/8pmSh8pCXQK6288d6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lantau Trail Section 2, Lantau Island, Hong Kong</a>