ABOUT WU KAU TANG

 

Wu Kau Tang is located in the northeast New Territories and is east of Fanling and Sheung Shui New Town. It is enclosed by the Plover Cove Country Park on all sides, the park beside the Plover Cove Reservoir extended from Tai Mei Yuk in Tai Po. Surrounded by the Plover Cove Country Park, Wu Kau Tang is actually made up of several villages built by Hakka clans in the early Qing Dynasty. Wu Kau Tang is characterized by a mixture of village settlements and agricultural land where mostly left fallow. It became a common hiking place for its natural landscape.

 

Bride’s pool nature trail

 

Villagers put the boulders, each sized about half square meter, together to form the footpath. The boulders are about half inch apart from each other to allow rainwater penetrates through the interstices into the mud to prevent accumulation of water on the path surface. It also prevents cracking of boulders made by thermal expansion and contraction. This old footpath was once the main access from Wu Kau Tang village to Chung Mei. Villagers went to Tai Po and other villages along the Plover Cove by boat. Plover Cove was originally an inlet on the northern coast of Tolo Habour. With increasing population in 1950s, the Government transformed the sea inlet into a reservoir.

 

Wu Kau Tang Country Trail Information

 

Make a start at Wu Kau Tang Village. Past the village houses, the hill path climbs steadily up dense woodlands. Along the way, sweet songs of birds echo through the forests. The trail runs parallel with a hill stream, so even on hot summer days it feels mellow and cool. At the summit there is a hill fire lookout. Facilities of this kind are watchdog stations to protect our Country Parks from devastating hill fires. There are currently 10 hill fire lookouts in Hong Kong, distributed in vantage points in Kowloon and the New Territories. During the dry season between September and April, all hill fire lookouts are manned by Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department staff around the clock. When a fire is detected, the hill fire control center will be alerted at first instance, so that firefighting missions can be promptly organized, for example, sending in firefighters or requesting helicopter assistance.

 

Looking north from the hill fire lookout, you’re looking at Sha Tau Kok and surrounding areas like Yim Tso Ha Egretry and A Chau Egretry, mangrove beds along the Luk Keng coast, fishponds and paddy fields. This part of the New Territories is frequented by field and wetland birds, such as kingfishers, bitterns, egrets and herons. Also within sight is the Sha Tau Kok countryside both within and outside the Hong Kong border. Looking down, the foothills are verdant with thick tree canopies, reflecting decades of hard work by Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department afforestation staff.