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Hikers should remember that the high humidity during spring and summer can be enervating. October to March is the best season for arduous treks. At high elevations, such as parts of the Lantau and MacLehose Trails, it can get very cold so it’s essential to bring warm clothing.

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WALKING & NATURE GUIDES TO LEAD THE WAY

Exploring Hong Kong’s Countryside: A Visitor’s Companion by Edward Stokes is a well-written illustrated 185-page guidebook distributed free by the HKTB. It provides excellent background information and the maps are good.

Peter Spurrier’s new Hiker’s Guide to Hong Kong will guide you along the four main trails and introduce you to 10 shorter ones.

Hong Kong Hikes: The Twenty Best Walks in the Territory by Christian Wright and Tinja Tsang is unique in that it consists of 20 laminated loose-leaf cards for hikes on Hong Kong Island, the Outlying Islands and the New Territories that can be unclipped and slotted into the transparent plastic folder provided.

Historic Hong Kong Hikes is a mix of 15 country and urban walks with a historical theme.

Magic Walks, which comes in four volumes and is good for 50 relatively easy hikes throughout the territory, is written by Kaarlo Schepel, almost a legend among Hong Kong walkers.

The Birds of Hong Kong and South China by Clive Viney, Karen Phillips and Lam Chiu Ying is the definitive guide for spotting and identifying the territory’s feathered creatures and an excellent guide to take along while hiking in the New Territories.

Ruins of War: A Guide to Hong Kong’s Battlefields and Wartime Sites by Ko Tim Keung and Jason Wordie is a specialist title but a welcome addition to Hong Kong’s walking guides bookshelf. It includes a lot of walking in the countryside.

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Mosquitos are a nuisance in spring and summer, so a good mosquito repellent is necessary. Snakes are rarely encountered.

Maps

Good hiking maps will save you a lot of time, energy and trouble. The Map Publication Centres Click here stock the excellent Countryside Series of topographical maps, as well as the unfolded hiking maps ($34) produced by the Country & Marine Parks Authority for each of Hong Kong’s four main trails: the 1:15,000 Hong Kong Trail, the 1:35,000 Wilson Trail, the 1:25,000 MacLehose Trail and the 1:20,000 Lantau Trail. The four trail maps are also available from the Government Publications Office Click here in Central. If you’re heading to Lantau it’s also worth picking up the Conservation Department’s brochure Hiking on Lantau Country Trails, which gives updates on landslides, path changes and path closures.

Accommodation

The Country & Marine Parks Authority ( 2150 6868; www.parks.afcd.gov.hk) of the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department maintains 38 free, no-frills camp sites in the New Territories and Outlying Islands for use by hikers. They are clearly labelled on the Countryside Series and four trail maps. Camping is generally OK on more remote beaches.

You can camp at the hostels managed by the Hong Kong Youth Hostels Association (HKYHA; 2788 1638; www.yha.org.hk), with the exception of the Jockey Club Mount Davis hostel on Hong Kong Island and Bradbury Jockey Club Youth Hostel at Tai Mei Tuk in the New Territories. The fee, which allows you to use the hostel’s toilet and washroom facilities, is $25 for HKYHA or Hostelling International (HI) members and $35 for nonmembers.

Organised Hikes

The Hong Kong Trampers ( 8209 0517; www.hktrampers.com) are worth checking and arrange informal walks on Sundays. Serious hikers might consider joining in the annual Trailwalker (www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.hk) event, a gruelling 48-hour race across the MacLehose Trail in the New Territories in November, organised since 1986 by Oxfam Hong Kong ( 2520 2525).

If you want to do some hiking in the countryside – either individually or in a group –but you would prefer to be shown the way, Walk Hong Kong ( 9187 8641; www.walkhongkong.com) takes guided nature walks