Lugard Road Lookout, Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
How to get to
Me Jamie, English and 52 years living in Hong Kong and I know the know the place - I personally completed 2,324 Private Tours (6,000+ guests) from 2011 - 2020 and was considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
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Let me be clear, I am not trying to compete with the Peak Tower Company, I receive no income for my blog posts and I have basically retired from giving Private Tours of Hong Kong but doing Private Tours since 2010 taught me a very valuable lesson in that people actually want to see the very best views in Hong Kong and get all the insider knowledge and my Private Tour Guests where not in any shape or form into mass market tourism, they wanted a personal tour with a Hong Kong expert.
With all due respect to the Peak Tram Company who have been bringing people to Victoria Peak since 1888 they have a business model which suggests that the only thing that matters to them is numbers and then milk them for every penny and 6 - 7 million people use the Peak Tram yearly and that is just to tempting a figure to ignore.
In any event I am realistic enough to know that my blog posts will have NO impact on their business at all, when you have been in business for 136 years you know a thing or two about business and that is the point, they are part of publicly traded Hotel Group, it is as an individual impossible for me to compete with them.
It is all subjective of course, they claim that the panoramic city view from the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 is the best view in Hong Kong and they charge a lot of money to see it, I respectfully disagree, I first visited Victoria Peak on January 3rd 1972 and have been over 6,000 times since then and my view at the Lugard Road Lookout or Jamie’s spot at the Peak is far, far superior.
.. and that is me, I am about the personal touch and I dedicated myself to making sure I offered the very best experience when it comes to visiting Victoria Peak in Hong Kong and for people who want to see the best view at Victoria Peak, I have a how to get to guide available (see button link further down the page)
Prior to or after visiting the Lugard Road Lookout, you may wish to visit Victoria Peak Garden and Barker Road at Victoria Peak for more amazing views and instagram photo opportunities, the road to Victoria Peak Garden, Mount Austin Road, is literally 5 yards from the start of Lugard Road - click on the buttons below for my how to get to instructions for Victoria Peak Garden and Barker Road, it is very easy to do all 3 attractions within a 3 - 3 1/2 hour time frame.
Discover the Real Hong Kong with Jamie
The Greatest City View in the World - Lugard Road, Victoria Peak
Click on the button above, it takes you to my comprehensive blog post I have written about Victoria Peak (The Peak) in Hong Kong, I have visited the Peak over 6,000 times since 1972 and more importantly thousands of times from April 2011 - January 2020 when I was one of the premier Private Tour Guides in Asia, I completed 2,324 tours during that period..
Victoria Peak or The Peak, Hong Kong
The greatest city view in the World at the Lugard Road Lookout spot at Victoria Peak, Hong Kong | Night View
Victoria Peak or The Peak, Hong Kong
Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak (The Peak) - yes, amazingly this is the view virtually every visitor | tourist coming to Hong Kong misses out on, it is stunning in all types of weather and to make it absolutely clear, the reason you make the effort to go to the Lugard Road Lookout is not because it is free but because the views are far, far superior, in my humble opinion it is the greatest city view in the World.
This is why the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 is NOT the place to get the spectacular panoramic city views of Hong Kong, you need to visit the Lugard Road Lookout.
I have not cherry picked a deliberately bad image of the Peak Tower 428 Sky Terrace, sadly the crowds are like this for most of the day and night, 7 days a week unless it is raining, it can take a while to jostle your way to the railing to take photographs, crowd control is not one of their strong points and upselling the services of so called professional photographers (who hog the best places to take your picture) just typifies the tackiness, but that’s just me.
The Panoramic Hong Kong City View that the vast majority of visitors see and it is the WRONG view - amazingly this is basically my only image of the view from the Peak Tower 428 Sky Terrace and Lions Pavilion, this is basically a 90 degree view, at the Lugard Road Lookout it is 180 degree view as you see an awful lot more looking left (or west) it makes an immense difference to your perception of Hong Kong
The Number 1 place to visit in Hong Kong | Victoria Peak
For breathtaking panoramic city and skyline views day or night
sadly virtually everyone who goes to Victoria Peak for the view goes to the wrong location! The Peak Tower 428 Sky Terrace is completely the wrong place.
I have a thing about Victoria Peak or the Peak as it is known in Hong Kong, I have lived in Hong Kong for 52 years and have been to the Peak over 6,000 times since 1972. That I guess makes me uniquely qualified to talk about Victoria Peak and I discovered the Lugard Road Lookout (as it is now known) on January 3rd 1972.
The information below shows how very few people even know about the place in Hong Kong to get the best city view in the world, day or night and it is so easy to get to if you have the right how to guide or you are with a private tour guide.
October 30th 2024
Here is some context for you with regards to the reviews for the panoramic city views at Victoria Peak and amazingly hardly anyone goes to the place I visit. It is certainly not unknown to Hong Kong residents, the history of the Lugard Road Lookout goes back over 100 years.
This amazing image which I am guessing is from the 1950’s shows a family heading towards the Lugard Road Lookout which is just before the road disappears from view, this is how Lugard Road looked back in 1972 when I visited for the first time, there where however quite a lot more trees!
So here are those very telling Tripadvisor review numbers
Victoria Peak | number of reviews on Tripadvisor = 36,268
The Peak Tower Viewing Terrace and Peak Tram | number of reviews on Tripadvisor = 9,121
The Peak Tower Viewing Terrace only | number of reviews on Tripadvisor = 993
The Lions Pavilion Viewing Terrace | number of reviews on Tripadvisor = 527
The Peak Galleria Viewing Terrace | number of reviews on Tripadvisor = 203
Lugard Road Lookout | number of reviews on Tripadvisor = 9
A lot of the reviews for the Peak Tower and Peak Tram are for the viewing platform Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428, the Peak Tram ends at the Peak Tower so many people just go to the Sky Terrace for the view which charges a hefty admission fee and I need to emphasise, the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 does NOT have 360 degree panoramic views of Hong Kong Island as many reviewers claim, not even close.
I absolutely accept that the Peak Tram Company which owns the Peak Tower has to claim they have the best view at the Sky Terrace 428, that is a commercial decision and people will accept that because hardly anyone knows about the Lugard Road Lookout view.
It is a very slick operation and a lot of money has gone into the Peak Tower and Peak Tram, the Peak Tram stops literally within the Peak Tower and some very careful planning makes it inevitable that you get on the complex sets of escalators that whisk you up to the Sky Terrace 428 viewing platform and you are charged a hefty fee for the view and due to crowds you can wait for a while to actually get in.
Inevitably over the years more and more people discovered the Lion’s Pavilion Viewing Terrace literally a minutes walk away and for the life of me I cannot understand why they did not make that 10 times bigger when they built it, I guess it is what it is.
The view from the Lion’s Pavilion is free but gets overcrowded with just 30 people there, the Peak Galleria Terrace on the roof is a little hard to find (really) but is also free, both are roughly a 1 minute walk from the Peak Tower and the view is the same view as the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428
For the record, the view from my place - the Lugard Road Lookout is at roughly 425m and the Sky Terrace is 428m, in other words, almost the same height. (despite people claiming otherwise)
I always feel very sad when Mass Market Tour Guides and Private Tour Guides conveniently do NOT mention the Lugard Road Lookout when they arrive at the Peak, it could be a weather issue (ie the sun is not shining) or a timing issue and I inevitably start thinking it is because it takes 20 minutes to get there, walking and 20 minutes to get back and yet the walk itself is very, very interesting, so the guides are lazy and that is just awful, so many people miss out on the greatest city view in the world because of laziness on the part of the guide!
I should point out that I am very, very passionate about telling the Hong Kong Story and there is NO better place to do this than the Lugard Road Lookout, which I might add is invariably very quiet with hardly any visitors. (Sunday is a little different, lots of Hong Konger’s out for a weekend stroll along Lugard Road.)
I made it my mission in life to take everyone to my spot and my explanations on what you where looking at puts everything into perspective and for many of my guests it was the highlight of their visit.
Finally, The Hong Kong Tourism Board being what it is comes up with all sorts of slogans, The Lugard Road Lookout being one of them, another one I suspect they came up with is the Peak Circular Walk or Peak Circle Walk, essentially you walk to the Lugard Road Lookout, see the views and keep walking (rather than turning back) - Lugard Road then ends and meets up with Harlech Road and as long as you stick to Harlech Road you will end up back at the Peak Tower after an additional 40 - 60 minutes after leaving the Lugard Road Lookout viewpoint. I will do a how to guide for this in the future
The view from the Lugard Road Lookout (free) is far, far superior to that of the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428, The Lion’s Pavilion Viewing Terrace and the Peak Galleria Viewing Terrace and yet most people have no idea it even exists
How to get to | Lugard Road Lookout, Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
The amazing view from Lugard Road at Victoria Peak
Background Information
For the record and please note this post is NOT generated by AI but by me Jamie, my style is to write in plain English and not that gushing artificial nonsense you see in AI generated articles.
…..and this lookout is sometimes also known as The Peak Circular Walk, the Lugard Road Circular Walk, The Victoria Peak Circular Walk, The Peak Circle Walk or The Victoria Peak Circle Walk
Lugard Road is not a pedestrian path or a trail it is a road with vehicular access that has been around for over 100 years, there are houses on Lugard Road and if you have a residents permit you can drive a car on Lugard Road, in addition delivery vans and small trucks are allowed without a permit, whilst not common, it is quite incorrect to say that vehicles are not allowed on Lugard Road and it annoys me that many Hong Kong residents believe it is just a hiking trail and pretty much every Travel Blogger that has been to Hong Kong says the same thing.
The amazing Victoria Peak, Hong Kong’s most iconic views visitors miss out on
I will work on the theory that you have arrived at Victoria Peak (The Peak) by using The Peak Tram, a Bus, a Taxi, a Tour Coach, Private Car or you have walked up!
…. and a word or two about walking up particularly in the summer months, you have be nuts to walk up to Victoria Peak from down town so to speak, there are basically 6 known ways (the majority of people say 2 or 3 ways, I have lived here over 50 years, there are 6 ways of walking up taking from anywhere from 90 minutes - 4 hours, I have done them all and walking up might appeal to very fit people in spandex but not to your average normal person, you go from sea level to 1,404 ft or 428m in short order and the most popular route is (from the business district) up Garden Road, through the Botanical Gardens and up Old Peak Road, going up Old Peak Road which would challenge the temperament of even the most laid back, spandex clad marathon runner, it has no redeeming features and is just nasty and when you have traversed Old Peak Road you then have to take a very steep jungle path to Victoria Peak, anyone who says it is not steep is lying!
I get so frustrated with local bloggers and non resident travel bloggers who are so blase about walking up to Victoria Peak and I am telling you straight, for a normal person or family group you will hate it passionately, even more so in the summer heat and humidity and they also mention it takes less than hour, it does NOT, even for experienced hikers.
I digress……
In Hong Kong we say The Peak, visitors refer to it as Victoria Peak and actually the real official name is Mount Austin! and to the local Chinese population it is called Tai Ping Shan and there are a few historial references to it also being called Ce Kei which was a nod to a famous Chinese pirate who apparently raised flags on Victoria Peak when trading boats were spotted, they where then boarded by pirates and robbed!
I speculate that the name Victoria Peak was an old colonial reference to Victoria City on Hong Kong Island, the Peak was the centrepiece so to speak, whatever name you use is fine, personally I just prefer “The Peak” It also fits in nicely with the fact that we still have Victoria Harbour.
… and just to make your head spin, we have that age old argument as whether Victoria Peak is a mountain or a hill, the consensus is a hill but I think of it as a small peak, there are so many conflicting arguments when you do a google search as there does not seem to be an official distinction in terms of height between a mountain or a hill, confusing isn’t it!
During my time as a Private Tour Guide in Hong Kong (2,324 private tours from 2011 - 2020) my mission in life was to give guests the opportunity to photograph the greatest city view in the World, sadly this sentiment is not shared by most tour operators in Hong Kong.
You can avoid many of the pitfalls of visiting Victoria Peak and maximise your enjoyment by hiring a private tour guide from my list below, my favourite tip was always to take a taxi or a bus from down town to Victoria Peak and take the Peak Tram down thus avoiding the crowds and bedlam trying to go up to Victoria Peak on the Peak Tram, you only need to take the tram one way and for me going down is much more exciting than going up!
Yes, if you click on the button above, this is my list of the very best private tour guides in Hong Kong, if you do not wish to hire a guide then this is my guide on how to get to the spot where you get the most amazing city view in the world.
Please note that you can do the Lugard Road Lookout Experience at Victoria Peak, Hong Kong on your own without hiring a Private Tour Guide, simply open this blog post on your smart phone or pad and follow the very detailed step by step instructions.
The one thing that has annoyed me for as long as I can remember is the fact that just about every visitor that comes to Hong Kong does NOT get the opportunity to see this magnificent view at Victoria Peak, amongst my friends this was known as Jamie’s spot at the Peak and I have been there over 6,000 times since 1972.
It disheartens me when I see so many negative reviews about visitors experiences at Victoria Peak, phrases like tourist trap, mob mentality, touristy, war zone in relation to the Peak Tower, Lion’s Pavilion and the Peak Galleria are all too common.
So why is this?
in essence it is because my viewpoint on Lugard Road or the Lugard Road Lookout is not widely publicised and unless you have precise instructions it is not easy to find and it is very common for visitors to stop at completely the wrong place, because they have been given incorrect information. I have lost count of the number of times I stopped to tell people that they where in the wrong place! and quite a few times tourists told me I had no idea what I was talking about until I handed them my business card and asked them to check my J3 Private Tours Hong Kong website.
the majority of visitors choose to go to the top of the Peak Tower (where you can also catch the world famous Peak Tram) and to the Sky Terrace 428 and pay through the nose to take photo’s amongst a crush of people, let me be clear, this view is NOT even close to the view you get at the Lugard Road Lookout and one other thing, contrary to popular belief the Sky Terrace 428 does NOT have 360 degree views of Hong Kong Island or Hong Kong, not even close!
for those that do not want to pay the very high fee to access the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 viewing terrace, you can walk 150 yards to the right of the Peak Tower to the Lion’s Pavilion where you get a similar view to the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 but free of charge however it tends to get very, very crowded due to the small space and you can also go to the roof top viewing terrace on top of the Peak Galleria Mall for the same view and again, let me be clear, this view is NOT even close to the view you get at the Lugard Road Lookout
So here goes
If you click on the button above you can purchase this immersive voice app by Hello Hong Kong Tours which is a fabulous AUDIO tour of my spot on Lugard Road, ie the Lugard Road Lookout - the app basically follows the instructions below (because I had a hand in the creation of the app) - it is well worth the modest price.
…. and a quick word about the weather at Victoria Peak and I quote
“July is also the sunniest month with 214.9 hours of sunshine (more than 7 hours of sunshine per day). February and March are the darkest months with fewer than 100 hours of sunshine per month. Hong Kong gets 1,843 hours of sunshine per year.”
In other words the weather is variable, I have known many days when the sun is not shining but the views are incredibly clear or days when it has been really misty and foggy at the Peak Tower (below) but clear at the Lugard Road Lookout and I have taken quite a few fabulous images of rainstorms from the Lugard Road Lookout and I have also been up there in typhoons!
Obviously we would all love a sunny, crystal clear day and yes, that does happen more frequently than you think and also please bear in mind that in the summer months May to September it can be 30oC - 33oC with 90% humidity… I am sure you know what you need to do to prepare for walking in this weather.
To make it absolutely clear, the primary reason you make the effort to go to the Lugard Road Lookout is not because it is FREE but because the views are far, far superior, in my humble opinion it is the greatest city view in the World.
Image no. 1 | So if you came up to Victoria Peak (The Peak) by the Peak Tram, this is the building you arrive in, once you have navigated the pretty awful tourist shops and perhaps used the nice bathrooms you need to find your way outside.
Image no. 2 | See the chap with the white T Shirt, you need to turn right at the glass tower where you are literally 20 yards from the entrance to Lugard Road where your walk begins.
Image no. 3 | If you came up to Victoria Peak (The Peak) by taxi, bus, coach or car you will get dropped off in the basement of the Galleria Shopping Mall (which is pretty excellent by the way with great restaurants, shops and bathrooms) you need to find your way up to the ground floor and go out of the front entrance.
I am always amazed at how people can complain about the Peak Galleria, it is not touristy like the Peak Tower, it is full of many excellent restaurants and coffee shops (yes there is a McDonalds and a Starbucks) places to keep kids amused, it has a viewing platform, great bathrooms but for me the clincher is the huge Candy store near the front entrance! oh did I mention it has a huge car park! and it was renovated fairly recently and it still has the new feel to it.
Image no. 4 | Yes, you will see one of the older Peak Trams - this is the 4th Generation Tram and was in service from 1957 - 1989, look inside (or don’t) take a selfie (or don’t) and head towards the old white building in the background
Image no. 5 | This is a better view of the old colonial building in the background, you need to head straight for that, that is No. 1 Lugard Road where your walk will begin to the Lugard Road Lookout.
History of Lugard Road
Lugard Road was built in two stages between June 1913 and March 1921, it‛s construction was put on hold for the entire duration of the First World War 1914 - 1918 - construction restarted in early 1919 and finally completed in March 1921 and apparently the total cost of the road amounted to around US$11,000 only!
The elevation is around 400m or 1,312ft to 430m or 1,410ft - there is quite a steep incline leading up to and slightly beyond no. 27 Lugard Road.
I have always stated that I thought that the Lugard Road Lookout view was slightly higher than the Peak Tower 428 Sky Terrace!
I really love the fact that historically the road was built as a promenade so that people could walk around the Peak and enjoy the fantastic panoramic views., this also explains why the road is quite narrow, I imagine they never thought that cars and trucks would get much bigger over time!
The start of Lugard Road next to the Peak Tower at No. 1 Lugard Road is called Victoria Gap and It was officially named Lugard Road in 1914 after Sir Frederick Lugard, Governor of Hong Kong from 1907 to 1912.
Lugard Road starting at Victoria Gap is 2,462 metres or 8,076 ft in length ending at High West Gap where is joins with Harlech Road to complete the circular walk around Victoria Peak
On a personal note when I first visited Victoria Peak in 1972 the railings were not black metal but where made of concrete, see image below and you will see the greening of Victoria Peak had not really kicked in yet.
As you can imagine there are very few images of Lugard Road after construction was completed, I would say this was taken in the 1950’s and it looks sturdy enough!
Image no. 6 | So this is the start of the road to the Lugard Road Lookout, the old colonial building is the office for the Peak Tram Company, we do not have many colonial buildings left so it nice to see one still being used. Please note that the “lookout” for “that view” is about 20 minutes walk at a regular pace from this starting point.
No. 1 Lugard Road Victoria Peak
The Office of the Peak Tramways Company
The Antiquities Advisory Board in Hong Kong listed the building as a Grade 2 Historic Building in 2010 and is one of the only official accounts of the building. To say that historical articles about the building are thin is a classic understatement.
The building was apparently originally built in 1927 and had an extra floor added in 1953 which served as an apartment for the General Manager of the Peak Tramways Company and the boffins at the Antiquities Advisory Board deem it to be of a Colonial Eclectic style because of it’s strange shape.
It‛s original purpose was simply that of a workshop for the Peak Tram.
The concrete RBL (Rural Building Lot) marker next to the building should state Rural Building Lot 311 as stated in a book about Victoria Peak by Richard J Garrett and published by the Royal Asiatic Society, the numbers are faded somewhat but the book is clear - RBL 311 became No. 1 Lugard Road.
Image no. 7 | This is the apartment block at 35 Lugard Road opposite the Peak Tram Office at 1 Lugard Road and it has an interesting history because it is not just any old apartment block.
No. 35 Lugard Road Victoria Peak
The House was originally built in 1928 by The Hong Kong Electric Company, the sole provider of electricity to Hong Kong Island and it‛s function was that of an Electricity Substation (ground floor) with 3 additional floors that served as apartments for Electrical Engineers who no doubt loved the view.
The building is Neo Georgian in design although upgrades and renovations to the building over the years have distorted that description.
Officially it is called the Victoria Gap Substation and I can find no information to the contrary that changes that description and it was still valid in 2010 so I assume it is still functioning as a substation. There are between 3,000 - 4,000 substations on Hong Kong Island and only a handful where constructed prior to 1939
The Antiquities Advisory Board in Hong Kong listed the building as a Grade 3 Historic Building in 2010, that I might add will not save it from demolition if it came onto the market.
Image no. 8 | The front door | access one of the 3 apartments, the Electricity substation is on the ground floor - see above image for the history of no. 35 Lugard Road
Image no. 9 | … and here is a fabulous old colonial property stone marker, at the outer edge of the land occupied by the Peak Tram Company Office, you can just about see the initials RBL which stands for Rural Building Lot, they are very common at Victoria Peak and the surrounding area’s. Please keep walking.
ps. This concrete RBL (Rural Building Lot) marker next to the Peak Tramways Office Building at 1 Lugard Road should state Rural Building Lot 311 as stated in a book about Victoria Peak by Richard J Garrett and published by the Royal Asiatic Society, the number are faded somewhat but the book is clear - RBL 311 became No. 1 Lugard Road.
Image no. 10 | …. as you set of along Lugard Road look behind you, you will see the Peak Tower which has had a few design changes since 1972. I will be generous, it serves a purpose.
The Peak Tower and the Peak Tram are owned by Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Ltd (who also own the Peninsula Hotel Group)
The problem I have with the Peak Tower is the Sky Terrace 428 which quite simply is that viewing platform on the roof and they charge a very high price to access the viewing platform and their very dubious claim is that there is a 360 degree panoramic view of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Island, this is complete nonsense, the panoramic view is at best 90 degree’s
The Peak Tram which carries roughly 6 - 7 million + passengers a year, they charge a very high rent to have a retail outlet in there, they have a Madame Tussauds and they have all sorts of additional ways to gouge you when you are on the viewing platform. In addition it can get terribly over crowded and it can take ages to take a photo in the spot you want to and I repeat again, it absolutely does NOT have a 360 view of Hong Kong.
My argument is simple, they should not charge for the view given all the revenue streams they have, but business is business right?
As for the building itself - this current design, well, if you look at it from the front and back people come up with all sorts of weird ideas of what the design is based on (boats, cooking utensils such as a bowl or a wok, the Peak Tram Logo etc) my theory is very simple - The Peak Tower and the Peak Tram Company are owned by Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels (which owns the Peninsula Hotel Chain) and the owners of the company are the very famous Jewish family, the Kadoories who have been in Hong Kong for over 130 years
To me the design is based on the Menorah - The Menorah is a seven-branched candelabrum that is described in the Hebrew Bible, look it up and you will see the striking resemblance!
You will notice the viewing platform on the top which I avoid at all costs.
Image no. 10a | You will see the Menorah on the left which is in the Ohel Leah Synagogue in Hong Kong, I think my theory is quite valid, the Peak Tower seems to be based on the shape of the Menorah!
Image no. 11 | As you walk along Lugard Road you will have gaps in the trees giving glimpses of the city view, a sign of the glorious views ahead! actually this view here shows you just how steep it is to walk from the business district to the Peak! oh and notice how clear it is even though it was pretty cloudy. please keep walking.
Image no. 12 | Every now and then you will see information boards, always worth a look and my sense of humour being what it is I always mention the cracks in the road being caused by the great earthquake of 1978 (I am joking) it has been fixed a few times but those cracks always seem to reappear and yes, cars fit. please keep walking.
Image no. 13 | So, the fork on the road - under no circumstances do you walk up here, to the left - do not deviate from Lugard Road, this offshoot “road” leads to a mansion at 25 and 26 Lugard Road and eventually joins up with Mt. Austin Road, there are NO views to be had. please keep walking.
The mansion at 25 and 26 A & B, Lugard Road with a size of 11,687 sqft was sold in January 2024 for HK$838 million or US$107,435,898 rather amazingly the buyer of this house in 1999 only paid HK$150 Million or US$19,239,770
Image no. 14 | On the walk you will come to gaps in the trees, enjoy the limited views, quite often large trees at Victoria Peak (The Peak) are uprooted by typhoons. please keep walking.
Image no. 14a | Victoria Peak 150 years ago, you will notice the lack of trees, shrubs and plants
Image no. 14b | One thing you will notice about walking at the Peak is how green it is, a 100 years ago there was hardly any trees, shrubs and plants at Victoria Peak but there was some improvement from the first image in 1870 (see images above) this image was quite a bit later as the Peak Tram is in service but after 1945 the Government set about “greening” Hong Kong with dramatic effect, they have done a tremendous job.
Image no. 14c | This image I took was almost in the same spot on Barker Road as per the old Peak Tramways image above, you will see how much greening has been done particularly with large trees, with the exception of one house at 25 - 26 Lugard Road, Lugard Road is largely invisible.
Image no. 15 | after that diversion about the greening of Hog Kong we are back again some city views, please also be aware that you should not ever attempt to climb over the black railings, it is an almost a vertical drop and it is a long way down! and another warning about the railings, watch out for the big spider webs, the Golden Orb spiders which can he huge, anchor the webs to the railings and nearest tree, I have seen webs 8 feet across! you only see the spiders in the summer months, thank goodness. please keep walking.
Image no. 16 | It is I might add a very pleasant walk and with the exception of weekends it is not very busy at all, you might only see a handful of people. Sundays are a nightmare however, in order to prove they are serious hikers, Hong Konger’s flock to the Peak in all the latest branded hiking gear and yes many of them have walking poles, they are walking on a road and yet the impression you have is they are hiking up Mount Everest, I find it very amusing. please keep walking.
Image no. 17 | Lugard Road is over a hundred years old so do not be surprised to see road works! or trucks and vans dropping off equipment, Lugard Road is a ROAD! please keep walking.
Image no. 18 | The Government sure likes it’s information boards about the foliage! please note that at the end of WW2 in 1945, the entire Victoria Peak District was devoid of plants and trees and such, they have done a great job in replanting. please keep walking.
Image no. 19 | So now we are heading towards the “steep” incline on the walk, up to the left is one of the very expensive houses that pop up on Lugard Road which in general are owned by very wealthy Mainland Chinese families, whilst the incline is not great it might be enough to make you stop and catch your breath - please keep walking.
Image no. 20 | So after the incline I always like to sit and rest on the wall at the entrance to no. 27 Lugard Road, this is a private residence so do not walk up the driveway, you cannot really see the house because of a massive fence and huge gate, at one stage in 2013 | 2014 this residence was going to be turned into a boutique Hotel, the plan was approved and then rejected after protests, one of the reasons being that increased vehicular traffic to and from the proposed hotel would be a safety risk given this is a popular walking route on weekends for local Hong Kong residents. please keep walking on Lugard Road to the right.
Image no. 20a | This is what the house at 27 Lugard Road looks like if you walk up the driveway.
No. 27 Lugard Road Victoria Peak
In the old days this house had the official address of RBL 138 (Rural Building Plot) before being changed to No. 27 Lugard Road.
The Antiquities Advisory Board in Hong Kong listed the building as a Grade 1 Historic Building in 2017
The original owner of the House was Herbert William Bird who was an Architect and he paid US$277 for the land in 1914 at a public auction and construction began immediately no doubt influenced by the completion of the first part of Lugard Road in 1913. He was by all accounts a very prominent member of Hong Kong Society. I have seen quite a few articles from very reliable sources that state that construction was completed in 1916 and NOT 1914 which makes perfect sense.
The 2 storey house is of a Neo Classical style and has had a number of owners since 1916
In 2013 new owners of the house received Town Planning Board approval to convert the house into a 17 room luxury boutique Hotel (I personally thought it was a brilliant idea) but basically a group of protesters led by University Students and weekend hikers (Alliance for a Beautiful Hong Kong) put paid to the deal on the grounds that vehicular traffic would make it impossible for residents and tourists to walk safely along Lugard Road due to it‛s narrow width. The Developer rather reasonably suggested no cars or trucks would be used, just golf buggies and only 2 trips per hour. I though this was an elegant solution unfortunately the Government caved in to the protesters and the plan was scrapped.
To put into perspective the ludicrous prices for houses at Victoria Peak in 2012 the property at 27 Lugard Road was sold by it‛s owner for HK$384 Million or US$49,230,770 and then in 2017 the property was sold by it‛s owner for HK$710 Million or US$91,025,641 and then was resold again in 2019 for just HK$550 Million or US$70,512,821
As far as I can tell the house has had 10 owners since 1916 and remarkably it‛s visual appearance has not changed much
Image no. 21 | … and yes, the red and white sign means NO VEHICULAR traffic beyond this point! and yes you do have to watch out for Police motorbikes and as you might guess Lugard Road starts to narrow now, just past the bend up ahead I have seen more than one vehicle jammed between the rocks on the left and the railings on the right! please keep walking.
Image no. 22 | Please keep walking.
Image no. 23 | As you turn the bend you will see this, this is NOT in any shape or form the place where you get the view and yet most visitors who walk along Lugard Road stop here and think they have found the Lugard Road Lookout, I have literally lost count of the number of times I have told people they are in the wrong spot only for them to be quite rude with me, perhaps they were thinking I was going scam them! I am just the guy who has been along this road 6,000 + times since 1972 - take in the view but please keep walking.
Image no. 24 | please keep walking.
Image no. 25 | just a few minutes to go now, what is it with people and rocks? stay away from these rocks and keep the kids away from them if they are with you, I have seen poisonous snakes in there. please keep walking.
Image no. 26 | The famous concrete bench, there are images circulating from WW2 showing Japanese soldiers sat on this bench - personally I would never sit on the bench, the foliage next to the bench is a breeding ground for giant Golden Orb spiders in the summer! they can give you a nasty nip. please keep walking.
Image no. 27 | The excitement mounts! just around the corner, so please keep walking.
Image no. 28 | So approximately 20 minutes from starting out at No. 1 Lugard Road you are here, see that huge gap on the right with NO trees, this is the spot, this is where you get the greatest city view in the world, day or night! you can stop here and soak it all in, I never, ever, ever get tired of the view.
Image no. 29 | Looking down on the Hong Kong Island Business District and across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon
Image no. 30 | Looking right to the East with the Hong Kong Island Business District below you and Kowloon across Victoria Harbour
Image no. 31 | Looking left to the West, looking down on the Western District of Hong Kong Island and then across Victoria Harbour is Stonecutters Island and the magnificent Stonecutters Bridge providing fast road access to Hong Kong International Airport. In the background just below the clouds is Hong Kong’s highest peak Tao Mo Shan which is 956m above sea level
Please note that you cannot see this view from the Peak Tower Sky Terrace or the Lion Pavilion
My most popular image taken at the Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak (The Peak) even the young Gen Z crew love it!
For the record, even on cloudy, rainy, stormy days you can still get some fabulous images!
When you have finished with the views you can simply turn around and walk back the way you came, simple!
These 3 images show the amazing 180 degree view of Hong Kong, something that is simply NOT possible from the 2 locations mentioned that most people go to, The Peak Tower and the Lions Pavilion.
Access is 24|7 365 days a year and is FREE and please note there are NO bathrooms or shelters on the way or at the Lugard Road Lookout, as mentioned there is one wall at 27 Lugard Road where you can sit and catch your breath and one concrete bench and that is it!
When it comes to timing I much prefer to be accurate, for some reason I cannot rationally explain, most people who state these times do not take in account that people might need to rest, admire views, take photographs, watch creepy crawlies fight, read information boards and such - I should point out that it is NOT a 10 minute walk or a 13 minute walk as some people have suggested to the Lugard Road Lookout (maybe if you ran and ignored everything around you) 20 minutes is about right for the average person and 30 minutes if you like to stop and smell the roses and put your camera to good use and yes it is kid friendly (huge spiders in the summer anyone!) and wheelchair | stroller friendly and yes even instagram inspired teenagers and Gen Z youngsters love the walk.
I also need to point out that if you wanted to continue to walk along Lugard Road for a minute or two there is another spot that Instagram junkies like to use, there are some very large boulders above the road and it is not uncommon for young people to climb onto the rocks for that perfect selfie moment, risking life and limb., who am I to question their stupidity?… and the bigger the rock, the bigger the snake!
Image no. 32 | The Golden Orb spider, unless you know what to look for you would never see them, I personally made it a point to locate them on my days off so I could point them out, kids love them… they are around only in the summer months and they can be the size of an adult hand! if you have a spider phobia then best not to look to hard!
I took this in 2013 with a not very good digital camera, I have upgraded camera’s twice since then, this is on Lugard Road and it gives you an idea of just how big the Golden Orb spiders can get, scary stuff right!
These are some of the creatures you might come across on Lugard Road and to be honest with the exception of snakes and wild boars most people would not even notice them! and yes, these are my images
I should point out that Hong Kong has 14 species of poisonous snakes and I have seen quite a few over the years and my policy has always been to move away very, very slowly.
The wild boar has become a bit of a menace and have turned up in convenience stores and shopping malls and I have come across them at Victoria Peak, again, no sudden movements and back off very slowly and under no circumstances should you try and feed them not withstanding that the Government can fine you a huge some of money.
The current fine for feeding wild animals and birds is HK$10,000 or US$1,280 on August 1st 2024 this will rise to HK$100,000 or US$12,820 and one year in jail - you have been warned.
Fortunately there are NO monkeys on Hong Kong Island that we know about thank goodness, I hate monkeys and we do have them in Hong Kong running wild and causing mayhem because people rather stupidly ignore the warnings not to feed them.
The Lugard Road Lookout elevation is virtually identical to the Peak Tower ie around 428m - it is a lovely walk but I am sad to say that a lot of Tour Companies | Private Tour Guides pass on this spot because of the 20 minute walk there and 20 minutes walk back which to me is simply denying guests the chance to photograph the most amazing city view in the world.
As this is a | how to get to the Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak | guide I should emphasise that you should really hire a Private Guide - the guide you hire will stop you from stopping at the WRONG place (about 5 minutes from the actual place) local knowledge is so important! and having someone point out precisely what you are seeing with detailed explanations can be a fabulous experience, if that is not an option for you then I hope this guide has helped.
Image no. 45 | Cyclist on Lugard Road at Victoria Peak
….and for those who call Lugard Road a path and doubt Lugard Road is a road - if you have a permit you can drive a car along Lugard Road all the way to no. 27 Lugard Road, you do not need a permit for a delivery van but most people know that driving on Lugard Road is not really an option - small trucks are allowed but they are quite dangerous as someone walking on Lugard Road does not have many options to let a truck by!
Just a word about cycling, I have seen so few cyclists over the years on Lugard Road that I have always assumed they are banned - I actually had words with this young lady as she was as we say in Yorkshire “going like the clappers” there are so many blind bends on Lugard Road that accidents are inevitable - I have always had a thing about cyclists here, they just complete ignore the rules of the road.
I should also point out that I get quite annoyed at mediocre tour guides who claim Lugard Road is not a road but a path and no vehicles are allowed, that is simply not true.
27 Lugard Road (as shown above with the fire truck) is the furthest you can go in a vehicle and the only place you can do some driving gymnastics and turn your vehicle around, police motorbikes are allowed beyond 27 Lugard Road but nothing else.
Image no. 43 | This was taken at the Peak Tower in 2019, do not worry, the overwhelming majority of visitors to Victoria Peak (The Peak) do NOT go to the Lugard Road Lookout
Image no. 44 | Unfortunately the old geezer with the Rickshaw has not been seen at Victoria Peak for quite some time, a little bit of Hong Kong history gone……
I love it when visitors write a blog post about Hong Kong, it drives me nuts when they make basic errors! you can see quite clearly that this is NOT the view from Lugard Road at Victoria Peak, this is taken many miles away in or above Causeway Bay | Braemar Hill on Hong Kong Island, depending on whether a zoom lens was used
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