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Suicide Cliff is arguably the most photogenic and dangerous hike in Hong Kong. The name “suicide” cliff is spooky but in actual fact this is not a cliff where people commit suicide. It’s named as such because the climb can be dangerous if you are not careful.

Situated in Ma On Shan Country Park, Suicide Cliff is located just beneath the Kowloon Peak. At 602 m, Kowloon Peak is the tallest mountain in Kowloon, and is crossed by both Wilson Trail and the famous MacLehose Trail.

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There are two ways to do this hike: the first start from City One Shatin. The trail will take you over Fei Ngo Shan with a 360-degree view as you approach Suicide Cliff, and the second will take you straight to Suicide Cliff. This is challenging and steep and goes directly to the cliff.

Route 1 – from City One

• Take the Tuen Ma line (formerly the Ma On Shan line) to City One Station (Exit D).
• Head to the Shing Mun River and take a right on Siu Lek Yuen Road.
• Follow the road for about 30 minutes until you reach Fa Sam Hang.The start of the trail is at Ming Kei Fa Yuen.

Route 2 – From Choi Hung:

• Take the Kwun Tong line to Choi Hung Station (Exit C1).
• Take minibus 1A to Sai Kung or 11 to Hang Hau. Alight at Good Hope School.
• Continue up Clear Water Bay Road for 10 minutes. Keep left and continue up Fei Ngo Shan Road.
• Take the first left for Fei Ha Road for the start of the Suicide Cliff trail.
• From here there are 2 path. The blue dot and the green line highlighted by the red arrow.
• The green line is the trail we took to ascent Suicide Cliff
• The blue dot is the trail we use to come down.

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Steep Initial Ascent

An interesting interaction occurred with another hiker at the beginning of the trail. He asked us whether we brought any gloves for the hike and when we replied no, he seriously warned us not to climb this trail saying that we will get hurt if we proceed. Even we told him that we would be ok, he refused to let us go. I think he did not know that we have climbed more dangerous trail than this.

The hike starts with a steep incline up the mountain for around an hour before reaching the summit. At certain part where the climb is steep, a rope is available for assistance. With a good pair of hiking shoes, it’s fine to walk up slowly even without this rope. I would probably bring some gloves if I were to descent on this trail.

Middle Section View

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Hiking in Hong Kong’s city area is a very different experience than hiking in the Europe’s alps region. In Europe, all we can see around the trail is the rugged tall mountains. In Hong Kong, all we can see around the trail is the high rise concrete buildings.

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Concrete jungle, a typical view of Hong Kong city

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The landscape of Hong Kong is fairly hilly to mountainous with steep slopes. Only 30% of the land is considered flat enough for construction. With such limited usable land, it’s no wonder Hong Kong’s property is the most expensive in the world. Like said, an inch of land costs like gold.

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As we climbed higher, the path slowly turns to the angle where we can see the world famous Victory Harbour in a full picture. Although I had seen this harbour view for a hundreds times, it remains fantastic to me !

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About 1 km width between Tsim Tsai Tsui and Central, and 9 km long, Victoria Harbour is one the most popular tourist attractions in the world ! Besides, the harbour is a natural channel between Hong Kong Island and the Hong Kong mainland.

Approaching Submit

As we continue the steep climb, wind gets very strong occasionally. We need to be extra careful so as not to lost our balance.

It’s worrying to see some teenagers putting themselves in unnecessary danger by climbing on the side cliff. The lack of barriers means one slip could prove fatal. Many accidents have happened here before and many have resulted in death.

To us, safety always come first. As a family, we have tried many challenging trail and rock climbing before but we are always well-prepared with the necessary safety equipment. Most importantly, knowing and respecting your limits are key to having a safe adventure.

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With over 7.5 million people of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. The living space for average people is so small, yet so so expensive, that can be described by one word : pathetic !

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A spectacular rock face over Kowloon and Victoria Harbour. The weather was very nice to provide a good visibility over the city beneath.

A small plateau before reaching suicide cliff. Under normal condition, a spectacular view like this will draw a massive crowds. But due to the difficulty level, it has naturally screen out the very old and the very young. Thus, we didn’t get to see many people up here.

Suicide Rock

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Finally reaching the highlight of this trail – Suicide Cliff, where a huge piece of rock is jolting out of the mountain face.

Suicide Cliff can be a dangerous climb where a slip could result in fatality. Many unfortunate accidents have taken place around this spot over the years. In fact, just 3 days after our hike, a female hiker died after falling down. The key is to be cautious. I did not go onto the Suicide Rock on that day as I felt that the wind was a bit too strong to have a firm footing.

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This is another superb spot for photo-taking. Standing at the edge makes us feel so small in relation to the expansive panoramic views of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. It’s an incredible act that human can build those skyscraper which is thousands times taller than their own’s height.

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The legendary Lion Rock (495 m), a trail winds its way up the forested hillside to the top, culminating atop the “lion’s head”. After World War II and the Communist’s victory in the Chinese Civil War, many people who fled to Hong Kong from Mainland China lived in squatters in Kowloon, where the Lion Rock is clearly visible.

The lives of the era, during which Hong Kong was rebuilt from poverty was depicted by TV series and its theme song “Below the Lion Rock”, is considered to represent the spirit of the Hong Kong, aka “Lion Rock Spirit”.

360 degree unblocked view at the summit. Such a picturesque scene of Hong Kong island from above – far better than any rooftop bar!

Climbing to Kowloon Peak

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After spending enough time at the suicide cliff, we started to make our way up to Kowloon Peak before going down by taking the path which is easy and not steep.

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Still, a little delay standing at the summit, to admire the panoramic views of bustling Victoria Harbour in one direction and the serene landscape of Sai Kung and Clearwater Bay in the other.

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There are so many outlying islet around Sai Kung and the Clear Water Bay. Most of them are undeveloped, and we haven’t been to many of them.

Going Down

Walking down is fairly easy, less steep too. Instead of taking the same route for descending, I will recommend this route which is not dangerous at all.