STAR FERRY & PEAK LOOP RUN – 15K

Description

This 15 km loop run is the amazing sea-to-summit route to explore, enjoy and learn about many of the Central & Peak sights – all in the company of a local HongKongese.

Our route let you approach the Peak from Central harbourfront. Through a network of elevated walkway, experience how our financial district developed and with its ever-expanding coastline.

Explore the Government Hill, where you will pass by HK landmarks such as St Johns’ Cathedral, first Anglican church in the Far East and Government House, now residence for the Chief Executive. Escape Central’s hustle going through the Old Botanic Garden, once private garden of the colonial governor, and one of the first zoological and botanical centres in the world!

Push uphill along parts of the Peak Tram tracks and be amazed by late 19th-century British engineering – the Peak Railway has been in operation since 1888. Catch your breath on Central Green Trail, a short path within a little urban forest.
Reaching the quiet Barker Road, you will be reminded that the Peak District was once exclusively for wealthy Westerners. Discover the current billionaire owners and some of the most luxurious lodgings now sold in Asia.

Our run continues beyond the Peak Tram Terminus where most tourists end their visit. Instead, we jog along the circular Lugard Road, which offers the most spectacular vista of Victoria Harbour at about 400 metres above sea level, and among one of the highest point on the Hong Kong Island.

We go downhill to visit the historical relics of Pinewood Battery, one of the first military defense sites contructed by the British in the 1900s. During the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941, the Battery was heavily bombed by Imperial Japanese and thus abandoned. The site now stands virtually unchanged since WWII, where runners can explore the remains of anti-air gun enplacements, military bunkers, trenches & observation posts.

Continue on to Morning Trail, we pass the 1903 City of Victoria boundary marker to make it back to sea level via the campus of University of Hong Kong, the oldest university in town. From there you can enjoy the sea breeze while running along the Central & Western harbourfront promenade. At the finish point, definitely pick up a coffee at the pier with a view of the busy Victoria Harbour which you just saw from the Peak!