Waterfall Rocks Rock Climbing

Have you heard rumors about beautiful basalt splitters lurking in the remotest parts of Hong Kong? The quick version of this dream: sort-of. The approach is complex, requires careful planning, and the amount of climbing you'll get in a day is limited.

Approach, part 1: Take a bus to Sai Kung, then take a taxi to the East Dam of the High Island Reservoir. Worth the $100 cab ride just for the scenery, as it is a national geopark. You walk down the hill on the left side of the ramp, then head to the far right end.

The hkclimbing guide then tells you to carefully climb past the seawall -- that's the same seawall mentioned in the "certain death" photo below. Actually, you can scamper off at the far right, mainly avoiding the stack of giant blocks.
From there, you head up and right a steep slope until you stumble over the goat trail.

Continue to the saddle, then follow a steep trail down to a beach. Walk to the right end of the beach. The guide mentions that the approach is not possible at high tide. Here's a slightly more specific description: At two hours past high tide, the water was chest-deep -- see the photo of Jack in the shallow part. Once you make it around, you scramble past another point (a tiny bit of wading), and the wall is off to the south.

So, to climb here, you would need to either time it right for low tide, or bring your gear in using dry bags. Some people have been dropped off by boat, and waded ashore.

Also, the hkclimbing guide mentions there is potential for lots of new routes. Many of the corners are chossy, and others are unprotectable. More critical, many of the walls top out into high angle scree slabs. You would need to bolt anchors, and hope that nothing slides off while you are underneath.

PS: No cell phone service in this area.

reservoir and seawall

sign by seawall

goat path

turn downhill here

wading

last part of approach