Victoria Peak or The Peak Hong Kong in 18 images
Awesome, stunning, amazing views of Hong Kong
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 52 years - I know the place.
I have personally completed 2,300+ Private Experiences (over 6,000+ guests) since April 2011 and I am considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
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The Number 1 place to visit in Hong Kong | Victoria Peak
Jamie’s personal images taken at The Peak
Sony RX R 1 Mark 2
This is my camera, 167,000 images and counting - full frame lens and perfect for Travel and Tourism Photography
Please note that for the 18 images I am posting I do minimal editing in photoshop - if you look at my images on my Flickr image site you will notice my photo’s all have a similar look to them
The Images I am posting are in random order
The best views in Hong Kong
The best places to visit in Hong Kong
I have a confession to make, it is not 18 images, I have added 3 more images taking the total to 21! - 18 is such a lucky number in Hong Kong.
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.
As a Private Tour Guide I completed 2,324 private tours of Hong Kong between April 2011 - January 2020 with guests from all over the world.
My unique selling point so to speak was always that I tried visit Victoria Peak on every tour if it was possible, for the most amazing city views in the world. I have my own spot at the Peak naturally called Jamie’s spot at the Peak and the view cannot be beaten, it is simply the greatest city view in the world even on cloudy, stormy or rainy days.
If you click on the link above you need to read my detailed blog post about my spot because virtually every visitor to Hong Kong and Victoria Peak misses out on this view because :
They have no idea that it exists even though publicity about it has increased over the past 10 - 15 years
They prefer the easy option of paying to visit the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 (and it is very expensive) or going to the Lion’s Pavilion 150m away from the Peak Tower, same view, free of charge.
Tour Companies who should know better and perhaps because of arrangements with the Peak Tower or because of time, they simply do not even give their guests the option of going to Jamie’s spot also known as the Lugard Road Lookout and the Peak Circular Walk.
I know that quite a few companies that do Private Tours of Hong Kong also do NOT take their guests to the Lugard Road Lookout and for the life of me I do not understand their attitude, every person in my humble opinion that comes to Hong Kong needs to see the best view not the mediocre views, I do not know if it is laziness (it is a gentle 20 minute walk there and 20 minutes back) or they prefer to cram in mediocre attractions so time is an issue but for me Victoria Peak comes first and everything fits in around that.
I had quite a large number of guests who had previously been to Hong Kong but had never been to my spot and they were always amazed that they had missed out on previous visits
Sometimes I put it in another context, in Asia every major city has hundreds of Temples (if not more) and we have some really interesting ones in Hong Kong but given a choice, seeing another Temple is one thing, seeing the greatest city view in the world is quite another and I have watched the view change over 52 years, it is spine tingling
I do understand if other guides do not share my enthusiasm but to short change their guests by missing out on that view, gosh I get irritated, their very simplistic argument is that it is something you can do on your own, well it is and I have a how to guide to help with that but it is the guide who brings the view alive along with a brief history lesson of the why Victoria Peak is so important in the history of Hong Kong.
My spot has a new name these days, people are now referring to it as the Lugard Road Lookout (no doubt coined by the Hong Kong Tourism Board) but I am grateful for the publicity! and there are now hundreds of blog posts about the spot most of them lacking in one critical detail which means people stop at the wrong place and miss out on the greatest city view in the world.
It is also a tragedy that people miss out on 2 other spectacular places at Victoria Peak
More on those later.
…. and now 18 of some of my favourite images I have taken at Victoria Peak or the Peak, they are in random order, my 3 how to guides for Victoria Peak are in a very logical order!
The 6th Generation Peak Tram
In service since Mid 2022 and now seats 210 passengers instead of 120 for previous generation trams, it is hard to get accurate information but with information gleaned from press releases and financial reports it is estimated that the Peak Tram averages 6 - 7 million passengers a year, it is a popular way to get to Victoria Peak but there are plenty of other options and the new larger tram has not had a significant impact on queues waiting to go up to Victoria Peak, my advice is take a Taxi to the Peak and go down on the Tram, you really only need to do it one way and I find going down to be a lot more exciting.
The Peak Tower at Victoria Peak (A)
Many people who go to the Peak never come out of the Peak Tower, the Peak Tram stops in the Peak Tower and a maze of escalators take you to the very expensive Sky Terrace 428 on the roof and when done, people find a bathroom, go down the escalators and line up to get on the Peak Tram going down., such a shame and let me make one thing clear, the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 claims to have a 360 degree panoramic view of Hong Kong, this is complete nonsense, even being generous it is at best 90 degrees and I guess no one has thought to tell the Peak Tower owners, if the Peak Tower Sky Terrace was at about 650m or 2,130ft then maybe, just maybe you might get that 360 degree view, but not at 428m!
It also does not help that it can get very crowded on the Sky Terrace, look, the view is fine, paying for it is not but you do NOT get a world class view from the Peak Tower Sky Terrace and please bear in mind, this is my own personal opinion.
I went into the Peak Tower when it first opened in 1972 and I deduced very quickly even at 11 years old that there had to be a better place and by golly there was. The building was under construction when we went there for the first time on January 3rd 1972, luckily there was some places to see the view (The Lugard Road Lookout!) but after my first visit to the Peak Tower after it opened (we went in early September 1972) I was a bit disappointed and it was all downhill after that, it simply became a commercial operation to extract as much money from gullible visitors as possible, it really is a licence to print money.
I completely understand the business logic behind the Peak Tram and the Peak Tower, it is all part of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels empire who also happen to own the Peninsula Hotel Group) but compared to the Peninsula Hotel, the Peak Tower is just plain tacky and it does not help matters that there is a Madam Tussauds Waxworks in the building either.
Part of the problem is the very high rents charged in the Peak Tower, this means the tenants have to charge very high prices for everything, it is a bit of a graveyard for many fine restaurants and shops and there is no guarantee that the millions of visitors a year will actually spend money in there and Tripadvisor reviews are quite scathing about the Peak Tower.
In some of my more enlightening light bulb moments I always think that there should have been another Peak Tram route to the west of the original (it was mooted but the Peak Tramways Company bought out the potential competitor and that was that) and I always dreamt of a Cable Car ride to Victoria Peak, gosh that would be really something.
My spot at the Peak became my place.
The Peak Tower at Victoria Peak (B)
This is an all too familiar sight at the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428, it not even close to the best view, it DOES NOT have 360 degree panoramic views of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Island as claimed by many visitors and boy it can get very crowded and you pay a hefty price for the view.
Lion’s Pavilion at Victoria Peak
About 150m or one minutes walk from the Peak Tower and is free of charge. It opened in 1976 and was spruced up in the 1990’s but it is totally unsuited to deal with the crowds that visit Victoria Peak these days.
It is popular because it is free but at any one time only 25 - 30 people can take pictures of the views and there is a lot of pushing and shoving and angry words aimed at people who linger too long… the Government could easily build an extension next to it with 10 times the capacity if they wanted too but I gave up dreaming about that decades ago.
The view is pretty much the same as that from the Sky Terrace 428 at the Peak Tower (just free!) which means it is NOT even remotely close to being the best spot for views.
As usual with sites like this there is no shortage of scam artists who try and get you to part with your money, it is a fortune teller type scam and quite annoying, a polite but firm no thank you normally does the trick.
The Rickshaw puller at Victoria Peak
I have not seen him for a few years, the trade of pulling rickshaws is basically dead, despite a few half hearted efforts to bring them back and all I can say is thank goodness.
They would charge US$13 for a 30 yard walk and US$2.50 for a photo and were very fond of cussing you if you tried to negotiate, I first encountered them at the Peak in January 1972 and gave them a wide berth, they were not the most sociable of gentleman and always seemed to be about 80 years old and they would hurl stuff at you if you tried to take a photograph of them without paying.
I find it hard to believe that in 1924 there was 3,500 (ish) registered rickshaws in Hong Kong! amazing.
The Peak Lookout Restaurant
See the chap in the yellow shirt… that is my friend Michael of Hong Kong Free Tours, he does a marvellous job of showing around large groups of young Gen Z people who are not predisposed to paying for a Private Tour and he does a brilliant job.
The building behind him is the awesome Peak Lookout Restaurant and is very popular with Private Tour Guides and their guests, I have eaten in there hundreds of times over the years (it became a restaurant in 1949) it is not specifically Chinese Food but pretty much caters to everyone, I love the place., it is 50 yards from the Peak Tower.
Mainland Chinese Tourists at Victoria Peak 2019
A common sight in 2018 and 2019 and was getting worse in 2020 when Covid hit and Hong Kong was cut off from the outside world for 3 years, there was no tourism.
Now the Tourism numbers are getting close to 2019 levels, so far we have not seen these crowds again at the Peak but I suspect it will be common again by early 2025, they tend to mass around the Peak Tower and the Lion’s Pavilion which means my spot on Lugard Road is by far the best option for the best city views in the world.
Mainland Chinese Tourists at Victoria Peak 2024
A cloudy foggy rainy day on May 2nd 2024 and because of the policy towards Mainland Chinese Tourists, this is what happens, this is the line to go down on the Peak Tram at lunchtime in bad weather, I estimate a minimum of a 2 - 3 hour wait for an 8 minute journey on the tram. This is terrible optics, we all appreciate Mainland Chinese Tourists, they are lovely, friendly people but 800,000 in a one week period for the May Day holiday is just too many.
Image courtesy of Lorena, my friend and owner of Vive Hong Kong Tours, thanks Lorena
The Peak Galleria at Victoria Peak
Yes, there are 2 shopping malls at Victoria Peak, the Peak Tower and the Peak Galleria, I get quite offended at people who knock the Peak Galleria, it underwent a major refurbishment a few years ago and has great restaurants, great shops, awesome bathrooms and a little known roof terrace where you can get a view very similar to the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 and Lion’s Pavilion and it is free…
As malls go it is far superior to the Peak Tower and I always feel that visitors who write tripadvisor reviews visit the Peak Tower only and they assume that the Peak Galleria is the same, it most certainly is not.
… and guess what, kids want to eat McDonald’s, adults want a Starbucks and the Peak Galleria has them both.
Every now and then I would have guests who could not go to my spot for the view due to mobility problems so I always took them to the Peak Galleria roof, it never seems to get crowded
oh.. and on the way out I always stop at the massive candy store at the ground level main entrance, what a great place.
Victoria Peak Garden at Victoria Peak
Oh my gosh, all I will say is read my how to get to guide, it is an awesome place to visit when you are at Victoria Peak and has some very different views, quite lovely it is.
Victoria Peak Garden at Victoria Peak
Just one of the awesome views at Victoria Peak Garden, the South side of Hong Kong Island and views of Lamma Island and other islands in the South China Sea, Hong Kong has 263 islands, give or take.
Barker Road at Victoria Peak
My how to get to guide to Barker Road needs to be read, you can do it by walking and it can absolutely be done alongside Victoria Peak Garden and the Lugard Road Lookout. 3 for the price of 1 as they say
What an amazing view and it pans left and right, not quite as amazing as my spot at the Peak but very close and very, very few people know that this view even exists.
Read my my how to get to guide
Barker Road at Victoria Peak
Rolls Royce’s are very common on a road short on traffic but those cars you do see tend to be very, very nice.
View of Aberdeen and the South China Sea from Peak Road at Victoria Peak
I had for some strange reason forgotten I had taken this image, this image is taken from a platform of sorts on Peak Road on the way to Victoria Peak, I had to take the bus, get off at the nearest stop and then walk a few hundred yards on the Peak Road section that has NO side walk | footpath, honestly I would not care to repeat the experience, there is a not very high wall separating you and a drop of about a 1,000 feet! scary stuff but I needed to get this shot because very few people have taken it.
It is not possible for a car to stop here either, so all in all it was a pretty testing experience but boy was it worth it, this is the amazing view of Aberdeen with Ocean Park (theme park) overlooking Aberdeen Harbour and you can see the ill fated Jumbo Floating restaurant in the Harbour.
Severn Road at Victoria Peak
Seriously, not even local residents know about this view unless they have driven along Severn Road and it is a very long road and then gosh, this view pops up out of nowhere!
Simply magnificent, looking down onto Aberdeen and the South side of Hong Kong Island. I just love this view.
You really can only see this view if you are with a private tour guide who has a car, see link below - it is well worth it, with the car you can do this view, Barker Road, Victoria Peak Garden and then walk to the Lugard Road Lookout. Amy has a nice car and knows her way around Victoria Peak. Amy is awesome.
Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak
The most amazing place on the planet for me.
This is the Golder Orb Spider which is common only in the summer and they are everywhere at Victoria Peak but most people will never ever see one, they can be very hard to spot and not all of them are gigantic! I go looking for them so I can photograph them and they can be as big as an adult males hand.
In my experience most people have a spider phobia so I am careful about pointing them out… they can give you a bit of a nip and they are lightning fast on the huge webs, I have been close enough to touch them but they just ignore me… I should point out that kids love them, it is the parents who have a phobia!
Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak or the Peak Circular Walk
Why this random image you might add of Lugard Road? well if you read my how to get to guide for the Lugard Road Lookout plus my other Victoria Peak blog posts, you will understand this image
Quite a few people who come to Hong Kong have heard about the amazing view at the Lugard Road Lookout but are fuzzy about the exact location, a lot of travellers who read the numerous blog posts think that this gap in the trees next to the lamp post is the spot and ergo anyone and everyone who reads the blog posts gets it wrong, the view is 5 | 10 at best.
This is NOT in any shape or form the spot which is 5 minutes walk away - over the past 14 years I have literally had hundreds of arguments with tourists when I tell them they are in the wrong place, perhaps they thought I was pulling a scam!
I would politely explain to them who I was, what I did for a living and that I was a long time resident of Hong Kong, my guests would confirm this and then they would follow us to my spot where large servings of humble pie were served.
Most of the time I was not irritated with these tourists after all they simply made assumptions based on lack of critical information but I was angry that whoever wrote the instructions in the blog posts got it all wrong and people missed out on the greatest city view in the world.
My how to get to guide for the Lugard Road Lookout explains everything
Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak
The amazing 180 degree view at Jamie’s spot at the Peak.
From the Peak Tower Sky Terrace 428 and the Lion’s Pavilion you only get half of this view, you basically miss out on everything to the left (or west) of the very tall building (ICC) across the harbour and it is a substantial amount of view!
I have had guests who where completely lost for words and amazingly kids and teens loved it as well.
I cannot guarantee the weather but it is still amazing on cloudy, rainy and stormy days and I have been up there once or twice where for 30 minutes you could literally see nothing due to heavy fog (which inevitably seems to melt away) and it is a surreal moment when buildings start to appear…..
Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak
The amazing night view at the same spot, I have also had guests who where speechless when they say this view.
Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak
These are Hong Konger’s who really annoy me with their selfish attitude.
You have heard of the golden hour right, that hour before sunset, then sunset and then darkness, well all the amateur photographers in Hong Kong think they own the Lugard Road Lookout spot and 20 of them from a local “photography club” will turn up with their very expensive cameras and hog the the lookout spot for a 100 yards, 19 of the group will bugger off for a drink leaving one guy to look after the equipment and just try moving anything!
It is a classic case of bragging rights with these people, the usual my camera is bigger, better and more expensive than yours.
The better the weather the greater the chance that they will be there, I have never seen them during the morning or afternoon, they pop up at the golden hour and surprisingly I never saw them at weekends either.
My argument with these very rude people was always that my guests had a one time opportunity to enjoy the view and take some photographs, people who live in Hong Kong can come back at anytime, sometimes it worked sometimes it did not…
Hopefully you will not have to deal with them.
Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak
If I had any followers on Instagram who liked views rather than my car images then this would be a classic, Mum, Dad and 4 kids aged from 12 - 22 from England, perfect weather, the planets aligned as they do on most days at the Peak.
This rather sums up Jamie’s spot at the Peak.
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| Cultural Tourism At It’s Very Best |
J3 Premium Private Hong Kong Tours and Experiences
Jamie, Your Passionate Hong Kong Expert & Storyteller
Discover Hong Kong - Pearl of the Orient
Learn about the unbiased, real Hong Kong | forget what you read in the press!
© Jamie Lloyd | J3 Consultants Hong Kong | J3 Private Tours Hong Kong | | 2011 - 2024.
All rights reserved.
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