We got the combined tickets of a return peak tram with Madame Tussaud’s at HK$185 per adult (the regular return peak tram tickets are HK$40 each). As expected, there were a lot of people lining up for the Peak Tram.
It was really quite unusual to be transported via the Peak Tram—to be so close to the houses and the tree branches really brushing the tram’s windows and being so inclined whilst going up. This is really a unique and memorable way to go up a mountain!
The Upper Terminus of the Peak Tram is directly connected to a shopping mall complex called The Peak Tower and the first thing you’ll see when you get off the Peak Tram are stalls selling souvenir items, which you may or may not appreciate.
When we were done with Madame Tussaud’s, it was time to explore more of The Peak. We went outside to see the view of Hong Kong from the Lion’s Club lookout point. On that day in October, the sky was quite gray and there was no golden hour or colorful sunset to speak of. At that time of day, there weren’t too many people outside admiring the views yet.
Outside the Peak Tower, there was another mall, The Peak Galleria, where we were able to catch great views of Hong Kong later on in the night.
We also saw this green tram turned into a tourist information center, where we were able to score more brochures and maps, and got to chat with local volunteers of what they recommend for us to see in Hong Kong. It appears that our 8-day itinerary pretty much covered everything (yay!) and the only places they suggested that we weren’t in our itinerary were Stanley market and Repulse Bay.
We went back inside The Peak Tower to get some afternoon snack. We tried out Hong Kong Day, a popular local cafe.
We had some hot milk tea and a slice of peanut butter toast—just the perfect comfort food to ward off the chills from outside.
By the time we went back outside, twilight was beginning to wane and dusk was slowly creeping in, which is really the perfect time to be at The Peak. This is the time when Hong Kong’s colorful lights appear and just like the time we saw the Symphony of Lights, we were once again treated to a magnificent view of Hong Kong.
I’ve seen pictures of travelers who went to The Peak in the middle of the day, and I must say that the view of at that time of day doesn’t do justice to Hong Kong and how beautiful it is at twilight and dusk. The only downside was that there were also other like-minded travelers who were also clamoring to capture the view (although it still wasn’t as crazy-packed as in the Kowloon harbor during Symphony of Lights).
But trust me to be able to jockey for our own space to be able to capture this one-of-a-kind view. And of course, to have my picture taken with this as background!
We went inside to explore The Peak Galleria, which is another mall in the complex.
Since it was getting really, really cold outside and I easily get chilly, I put on the spare black tights I had with me in my bag (which I brought precisely for fear of the cold). True enough, the next day I got a fever and chills.
Another good thing about The Peak Galleria was that we discovered another lookout point from The Peak. Just go to the very top floor, where you’ll get both the view of the Victoria Harbour, as well as the view of the rear side (more mountains. Quieter but beautiful too)
Like the Lions Club lookout point, there was also no admission fees to The Peak Galleria’s Victoria Harbour viewpoint. But here, there was no crowd, and it seemed we were even closer to Hong Kong’s skyscrapers. There were only us and a couple of people around and obviously, this area has not yet been discovered by en masse tourist groups so it was simply perfect.
I probably took dozens of pictures of this skyline and I would have probably taken dozens more were it not for the cold. This was around 7 in the evening and while the Symphony of Lights show was only an hour away at 8 pm, we really couldn’t stand the cold anymore and we’ve decided we’ve had our fill of The Peak’s fabulous view.
This is a shot of The Peak Tower, and the topmost part is called the Sky Terrace 428, supposedly the The Peak’s highest point, where you can get a 360-degree view of Hong Kong. When combined together with the Peak Tram, it’s only at HK$65 (so the Sky Terrace 428 is just HK$25) but I’ve read more than one recommendation to simply skip the Sky Terrace. I guess the free views from the other lookout points are great enough (by the way, the elevation of the Peak Galleria is not that far away from the Sky Terrace).
Later on, we went down from The Peak with our fellow tourists.
And this time we were carried down backward, which was somewhat disorienting. But since the tram was slowly moving, I didn’t feel dizzy as I feared I would.
From the Peak Tram’s Lower Terminus, we caught the bus back to Central.
And at Central, we got a closer view of the buildings we were admiring from atop The Peak.
The Peak is definitely a quintessential Hong Kong attraction. And just like all other main tourist attractions, one should find a way to balance between enjoying what makes it a top destination and at the same time, making sure the trip there is still special. For me, it was gamely posing with the wax figures in Madame Tussaud’s, visiting The Peak at the perfect time which was twilight to evening (and not just going there simply for the sake of going there), and serendipitously discovering the view from The Peak Galleria, where we were treated to beautiful views of Hong Kong’s famous skyline far from the touristy crowd.
Fabulous travels! Cheers!
We went to The Peak in the early am. It was also nice plus there were less people around. But I agree, it also looks good at night. =)
mas maganda pala ang peak pag gabi,tanghali kasi kami nagpunta.ganda ng photos mo.