VISIT LANTAU ISLAND: Ngong Ping (Must-go places in Hong Kong)

Ngong Ping is a major tourist hotspot in Hong Kong. Hailed as a garden in the sky, at 400 meters altitude, it is a place you cannot miss when travelling to Hong Kong. Most notably, Ngong Ping is home to the Tiantan Giant Buddha (天壇大佛), the largest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha in the world that has been officially completed since December 1993, and just recently underwent a major refurbishment. The Buddha is so big that it can be seen from as far away as Macau on the clearest of days. It is also so big a tourist attraction that it can cause queues of up to 1 hour during peak times on the transport methods used to reach the Buddha. These include the New Lantau Bus No. 23 (which takes 50 minutes from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping) and the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car (which originates from the same place, and takes just 25 minutes— but at a premium price). Of course, one must not forget about the Po Lin Monastery which has been there since being founded by monks from the Jiangsu Province in 1906. Of course, it was not always so easy to access the Buddha, with keen visitors taking the time to hike up the hill. Despite the advancement in transport, hiking remains a popular activity for those visiting Ngong Ping, which serves as a starting/end point for those hiking to/from Lantau Peak, the 2nd highest peak in Hong Kong, and the highest on Lantau Island. Like I said in my Tripmoments post about Tai O: If you visit Hong Kong, sure you can’t miss Lantau Island, but more importantly, you can’t come over to Lantau Island and not go to Ngong Ping. You can easily fit Ngong Ping and Tai O into your itineraries with easy access via bus 23 (Ngong Ping — Tung Chung), bus 21 (Ngong Ping — Tai O), bus 11 (Tai O — Tung Chung), bus 1 (Mui Wo — Tai O) and bus 2 (Mui Wo — Ngong Ping). However, there are more scenic routes available. You can book Cable Car Tickets at a discounted price on trip.com to travel from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping. You could hike to Tai O if you wanted, but of course, bus 21 is an easy service you can opt for. From Tai O, you could choose to take the ferry that goes to Tung Chung, and on to Tuen Mun for views of the sea and the Hong Kong — Zhuhai — Macau Bridge. #celebratewithtrip #meethongkong #staycation #staycations #hongkong #hk #hkinsider #tripcom5週年