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Twice the size of Hong Kong Island, yet home to just 25,000 people, Lantau has a huge variety of places to visit. The main attractions are the Big Buddha, hikes in the country parks, beaches and traditional villages. With a wide choice of good value hotels and restaurants, plus 24-hour transport to Hong Kong and Kowloon, and convenient for the airport, it’s worth considering using Lantau as a base and making day trips to other parts of the territory. For the price of a tiny room in traffic and pollution on Hong Kong Island, you can stay in a peaceful, large room overlooking the beach.

Sights

Ngong Ping, Lantau, T 2985 5248. 1000-1730. Meals at Po Lin: 1130- 1630, $60. Po Lin exhibitions 1000-1600.

The first sighting of one of Hong Kong’s biggest (literally) attractions is imposing: from the bus winding its way to the Po Lin Monastery, the back of the Buddha can be seen over the hills. Set amid spectacular mountain scenery, the monastery, which was built in 1924, shares Ngong Ping Plateau with the famous Big Buddha. From the bottom of the 268 wide, flag-lined steps leading up to the bronze statue, the size of the largest outdoor seated Buddha in the world (Hong Kong loves its superlatives) really sinks in, even more so when you’re standing directly underneath its hand and looking up. Completed in 1989, inaugurated in 1993, and weighing in at 202 tonnes and standing at 26 metres, it attracts bus-loads of tourists daily, especially on Sundays. Wrap up warm because the weather can be bitterly cold and windy at the top.

Once at the top, there is a fantastic view of the rolling green of Lantau (if there is no haze) and several statues along the balcony. An interesting exhibition inside the base explains how the statue was built in Nanjing in China then transported here in pieces, and huge paintings illustrate the story of Buddhism. This is free, although the exhibition hall upstairs is only open to those who have purchased (from the kiosk at the bottom of the steps) a $60 meal voucher for the monastery.

There are mixed feelings about the restaurant inside Po Lin Monastery, which is accessible across the car park and down the path. The pure vegetarian set meal is wholesome and filling, although the service is surly. More pleasant dining experiences are available at the adjacent self-service café and Tea Garden Restaurant, a 10-minute walk from the car park.

Within the monastery there is an Exhibition of Secret Documents of Buddhist Activity in Qing Palace, covering two halls. The main temple has a bright red ceiling garishly adorned with paintings and figures and outside are huge stone pillars carved with dragons. The iron pots outside contain 10-foot high incense sticks, burning heavily. You can buy them from adjacent stalls. More ambitious hikers can climb nearby Lantau Peak which, at 934m, is Hong Kong's second highest peak. The best map is in the South China Morning Post trekking guide.

Because of its proximity to mainland China, Tai O used to be notorious for its piracy and even today it is implied that certain goods get ‘delivered’ by fishing boat. Once the centre of the salt trade to China, the oldest of the few remaining fishing villages in Hong Kong, has changed over the years. A third of the stilt houses, for which the village is famed, were mysteriously burned down in July 2000. The Government built characterless concrete blocks to rehouse people but many refused, preferring to rebuild their own houses.

The aluminium stilt houses are like silver boxes and said to originate from the Tanka people, the first fishermen of Hong Kong, who felt unsafe on land. Most are two storeys, with brightly painted window frames propped up with wood, and terraces brimming with pots of plants and household clutter. Between the houses are narrow wooden pedestrian ramps over the creek, making it possible to wander between the rows.

From the bus station, bus no 1 from Mui Wo, and taxi rank, there is a bamboo scaffold for Chinese Opera and down this tiny street are a couple of good cheap restaurants, rather like dining in someone’s kitchen. Back into the centre of the village, there is a pleasant walk down Wing On Street amidst shops selling dried salted fish and trays of egg yolks drying in the sun. Sundays are busier, when you can hear the clattering of mahjong tiles emerging from apartments.

A new, manually operated drawbridge spans the narrow creek that divides the town, replacing the old-fashioned rope-drawn “ferry” operated by the village old dears for over 86 years. The other side has an HSBC on Kat Hing St. On the first alleyway to the right, Yun Tan lives like a hermit in his secluded shop and is thought to be the only traditional mask maker in Hong Kong, carving heroes and gods out of wood.

Off Kat Hing Street is the village square containing Kwan Tai Temple and the marriage registry office. Tai O Market Street has another collection of seafood restaurants, packed at weekends. Out towards Po Chue Tam sampans chug around the old stilt houses for a closer look inside a fast-disappearing way of life.

No 4 bus from Mui Wo. It is also possible to get on the Airport Express, or buses going to Tai O or Ngong Ping which all go in the same direction, although you will probably have to pay the full journey fare.

One of Hong Kong’s cleanest and most beautiful beaches, Cheung Sha is relatively isolated. From the bus stop for Cheung Sha Lower village, walk down the steep path leading to a tiny car park and gift shop. Stock up on food for a picnic at the supermarkets at Mui Wo, or eat at The Stoep or Kung Shing Restaurant . There are changing facilities and showers at the far end of the beach, near to a small shop renting out umbrellas and mats. The water is clean and waves attract surfers, and junk trips often stop off on the beach for a meal. Past the changing rooms is a new Chinese pavilion on the hill, to where it is possible to walk – worth it for the great views. The beach gets crowded during fine weekends and is blissfully isolated during the week.

The main hub of this half of Lantau is the location of the ferry pier, buses and taxis, banks, bars, shops and restaurants. Turn right from the ferry pier and a little further on is the cooked food market, which has a great selection of little Chinese and seafood restaurants offering semi-alfresco dining, the best of which is Yee Hen. Walk up Ngan Kwong Road, past the hospital post office, and across the bridge near the market is a new block containing an interesting antique shop. Continue past the children’s playground to the old village of Mui Wo, then wander down Mui Wo Rural Committee Road which has a real village atmosphere and plenty of good cheap restaurants. This is one of the most interesting areas of the island – a genuine example of rural village life. There are footpaths leading to the beach which, although a vast white expanse, is not the best area for bathing, and is also the location of several hotels and guest houses.

Direct bus from Mui Wo, Po Lin Monastery and Discovery Bay, on the MTR line and there are half-hourly ferries to Tuen Mun. The fort (0900-1600) is a 25-min walk from Tung Chung terminus. MTR: Tung Chung. Buses from Mui Wo and Discovery Bay.

Since the completion of the new airport nearby, Tung Chung has transformed itself from an ancient fishing village into a new town, and will soon be one of the largest satellite towns in Hong Kong. Its shopping mall is linked to the MTR station and contains several restaurants, a cinema, and decent shopping which even attracts Discovery Bay residents with regular direct buses between the two.

Old Tung Chung is interesting and the harbourside Qing dynasty fort, built in 1817 to attempt to suppress the opium trade from Guangzhou, is today a local school and government building with six cannons along the ramparts as a reminder of its former glory. Hau Wong Temple is a little-known place of interest, containing a bell from the Qianlong dynasty which suggests the temple dates back to 1765, and ceramic decorations produced in the famous kiln of Shiwan during the reign of Xuantong.

There is little reason to stop by in Discovery Bay as a visitor; a huge concrete housing estate for wealthy expats and their families. But there is a lovely walk from Mui Wo to Discovery Bay, past the Trappist Monastery which was founded by immigrants from mainland China and operated as a dairy until recently. From Discovery Bay there are regular fast ferries to Central.

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