Po Toi Island (蒲苔島) is the southernmost island off of Hong Kong Island. This off-the-beaten-path island is a great destination for a half day outing while in Hong Kong. Not only does it have gorgeous crystal blue waters and really interesting rock formations, there are ancient rock carvings, a curious abandoned house from the 1930’s, and an old school noodle shop serving a hyper local version of Hong Kong style noodles using the locally harvested seaweed.Po Toi Island is harder to access because the public ferry from Stanley or Aberdeen only runs on certain days of the week. On Saturdays there are only two times, 10:30AM and 1:30AM, and the last return boat leaves at 4PM. We showed up early (around 10AM?) to try an beat the crowds. I guess it didn’t work and everyone is already in line, haha . . . . Thankfully we made it onto the ferry (it’s quite large, actually). The views on the way to Po Toi Island are quite interesting. Check out these huge satellites!And this island that is completely white rock!Approaching Po Toi Island.There was a time when Po Toi Island had over a thousand fishermen and farmers living there. However, as time went by, the younger generation moved into the city, and the population on the island dwindled down to It is fascinating to see the houses that families just abandoned. Some have been here for close to a hundred years, and yet you can still peer in and see evidence of daily life.
Old Mansion Family Mo
The Old Mansion of Family Mo belongs to one of the few families known to have settled here about a century ago. This particular house was built in the 1930’s but has long been abandoned.
You can walk around and explore the different rooms.
The Paths Around the Island are Easy to Navigate
The hiking trails around the island are extremely well marked. It will take several hours to explore everything, and we ended up not having enough time to explore the entire island during our half day trip. Still, we were able to see a majority of the recommended sites.
Ancient Rock Carvings over 3000 years Old!
Rock carvings were discovered in the 1960’s, and are believed to be over 3000 years old. It’s interesting, but we had a harder time seeing the patterns when we stood close to the rock, but could see it better when we stepped back a few feet.
We only encountered one restaurant on the island . . .
You’re bound to get hungry after hiking, but the food options are quite limited. The one restaurant that serves hikers on weekends basically only serves variations on one main dish.
We both got a bowl of ramen topped with luncheon meat, an egg, and locally harvested seaweed. I even bought a couple packs to take back home with me, sort of a hyper-local souvenir.
Off to See Cool Rock Formations!
Po Toi has a lot of cool rock formations, and part of the fun of this hike is exploring the island and identifying all of them.
This reminds of of Big Hero Six, isn’t he cute?The bumpy rock in the distance almost looks like the moon!Walking towards tortoise rock . . .Because the island isn’t that big, you’ll encounter lovely blue seas along a large part of the hike.
Tortoise Rock
The large rock really looks like a tortoise shell, expecially together with the smaller rock “head” that includes an “eye”. In the photo above, a person is standing on top of the eye.Can you still see the tortoise from a distance?
Palm Rock or Praying Hands
This palm rock was really popular and a woman managed to climb on top of the fingers while setting off a drone to take some drone shots. I’m sure those drone shots were amazing. The large rock next to the hand looks like a person’s head, so together the overall image looks like a person praying.
Supine Monk
Pretty self explanatory, this rock looks like a monk leaning back as if he were resting. Bryan is trying to “prop up” the monk, I guess?Aside from the cool rock formations, just the normal hike itself is very beautiful, with so many gorgeous mountain + sea vistas all along the hike.
Heading Back to Stanley
After spending a couple hours on the island, we had to catch the 4PM ferry back to Stanley (lest we get stuck on the island overnight!!!).
Stanley is also a fun place to visit. Since the last ferry from Po Toi leaves at 4PM, there’s still several hours of daylight left to explore Stanley, such as Stanley Market.
We wandered up and down the market, and ended up purchasing a cool Hong Kong themed “neon” light and even a new backpack for me!
The best way to end a great day: Bakehouse’s famous sourdough egg tarts and coffee before heading back home.