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Shane_Currie

Perhaps the oldest and best known sight-seeing attraction in Hong Kong, Victoria Peak is well worth visiting just before sunset for absolutely breathe-taking views over Hong Kong city and Kowloon. Starting life as a residential district for Hong Kong's wealthy, Victoria Peak is the highest point on Hong Kong Island at 552m above sea level.

There are several ways to get to Victoria Peak; bus, taxi or via The Peak Tram, each of which is an experience in itself. We elected to take the Tram up and a taxi back mostly to avoid the crowds, which were quite large.

The Peak Tram, which connects the city and the Peak Tower, was constructed in 1888 and cost 15c per return trip - a far cry from today's HK48. In its first year the tram transported 150,000 passengers, a fraction of today's 4 million, to enjoy the views. The Peak Tram is a double reversible funicular system which means there is a tramcar going up the hill as another is descending. This allows the tram to complete 90 x 7min trips per day, leaving every 15mins, carrying 120 passengers along the 1,365 metre track at angles of up to 27deg.

The track is carved out of lush forest which obscures the view for part of the trip. However once you clear the growth the views are amazing, particularly on the right hand side of the tram.

Once at the top you can enjoy the magnificent 360deg views from the comfort of the multi-level Sky Terrace. We arrived late in the afternoon so as to enjoy both the sunset and night views of Hong Kong. While waiting for the sun to go down, we spent a few hours browsing the souvenir shops and restaurants before returning to the viewing platform.

Be warned though, once you exit the outside viewing platform you can not return without buying a new ticket at HK20.

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