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Hello all, I am heading off to HKG tomorrow (good old UA 895, how I have grown to love this flight) and I have heard that you get great views of HKG from the mountains on the way to Tian Tian Buddha. From a spotters point of view is it worth the trek out there. I am trying to find photos taken from that vantage point, and I am not finding many where I know it is from that vantage. Thanks a lot.

I've visited Lantau Island and the big Buddha once but it was so socked in with fog that I could barely see 10 feet in front of me let alone to the airport. I can report that the Ngong Ping cable car which you can take to and from does offer a pretty cool view of the airport albeit only for a few minutes near the Tung Chung terminus. Google image search "Ngong Ping 360 airport view" and you'll see some photos.

There is a great view of HKG from the cable car up to the Big Buddha on a clear day. Unfortunately, with all the smog from nearby newly industrializing areas in China, Hong Kong no longer gets many clear days.

I did a ride on the Ngong Ping 360 to reach the giant Buddha two years ago. It was a cool experience and the view of the airfield is superb. To give you an idea of the sight, here is a shot taken from a cabin :


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Photo © Alsatian D


Dennis

Another alternative is the Ngong Ping 360 Rescue Trail. It's a trail that goes between the cable car at top and the Tung Chung area at the bottom (where there is a mall, hotel, metro stop, Airbus airport buses, etc.). What I have done is take the cable car up and hike down...beautiful scenery, nice exercise, and good views of the airport. It takes about 2-3 hours depending on your pace. Not many people know about it - it's designed as a rescue path for the cable car, but is open to anyone at no cost. Basically, it more or less follows the cable car from the top until just before the cable car goes over the water. At this point, you can stand at the edge and have awesome views of the airport and active runways. And everyone on the cable cars points at you and you can practically hear them saying "what the hell is he doing walking?" At that point, it breaks off right and goes down in to housing areas.

In regards to the views being obstructed - In fact, I am writing this from The Pier lounge at HKG and it's so cloudy/hazy that I can barely see Cathay City, let alone the cable car or hills! However, when I did it (it was winter time), it was clear as could be and beautiful weather.