BIG BUDDHA LANTAU
Address: Lantau Island
Traveler Reviews
there are lots of stairs, but it’s worth it
Reviewed on Jul 13, 2009
Wow – I think that sums up the Budda itself. The monestry nearby is nice too, you have to buy a ticket for a vegetarian meal there if you want to see the top tier of the Budda, that’s why I bought the meal ticket but the meal turned out to be great (and I’m no vegetarian!).
What a wonderful day!
Reviewed on Jul 8, 2009
The next day took us out to Lantau Island, near the airport where the tallest outdoor Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha) in China sits on a hill. As much as we enjoyed the destination, it was a day to enjoy the journey. After another trip on the MTR (to the Tung Chung station, exit B), we connected to the Ngong Ping 360 cable car (less than 5 min walk from the station). 25 minutes of soaring over the mountains (which were lined with hiking trails) in a glass bottom cable car were awesome! The views were great. Take a look at the pamphlet they hand you when you buy tickets ? it gives you an idea of what you are seeing from many of the points along the ride such as Tung Chung Bay, the HK Airport, Lantau North County Park, and Ngong Ping Village, as well as the Buddha. Make sure the windows in your car are open, as that will provide better ?air-conditioning?. We explored the village, and after hiking the 250+ steps up to the Buddha, we enjoyed a wonderfully authentic Chinese lunch at Ngong Ping Garden Restaurant. Why is it that German beer (Carlsburg) is cheaper in Hong Kong than Chinese beer? It turned out to be a great place to people watch. Staff was friendly and made good menu suggestions ? although the menu has lots of photos to help as well. We spent about $250HK (~$32 US) for 2 entrees, 2 beers and 2 sodas including service charge and tip. They also brought a traditional hot tea after the meal. You can visit the museum inside the base of the Buddha for the cost of a ?meal ticket?. For $23 HK/person, you get to enter the museum (which has AC), explore a bit, and then a drink and ice cream are included. Not a must, but on a hot day, it?s a nice break after the hike up. Also, this was the only place in Hong Kong that we pulled out our bug spray. There were lots of buzzing things in the area around the Buddha and some of them did bite! Afterward, we took the cable car back and enjoyed the views once again — this time we had the car all to ourselves! It seems you have a much better chance of not being in a car with many other people in the Crystal Cabins. There are a couple of points where they photograph you in the cable car cabins. Photos can be purchased as prints, files emailed or other souvenirs purchased. We were a little disappointed with the print quality of the photo, but it?s fun nonetheless ? next time I?d consider getting the file email. There are a couple of additional options in the tickets, but we didn?t add those. Shops in the village are a little expensive, but on par with the other tourist locations in Hong Kong. There?s also a 7-11 for drinks / snacks, and the western restrooms were clean. Roundtrip tickets for the Crystal Cabin (the one with the glass bottom) were $157HK / person vs. $96 HK for the regular one. About every 5th car has the glass bottom, so you might have to wait about 10 minutes for the next one. Cable cars start running at 10 AM and are fairly busy (they fill the cars with 8-10 people when busy) for a while after they first open. Coming back, everyone is at their own pace, so much less crowded, but that would depend on the time of day you leave. To us, it was worth taking both ways — the tide went out while we were on the island. Going back at low tide, you could see the locals gathering seafood below you.
Mystic Fog
Reviewed on May 21, 2009
We went to the Big Budhha last March 7, 2009 coming from Kowloon Island, which was pretty easy since Hong Kong must be offering the most convenient transportation options you can find in the world. Anyway, we got on the MTR all the way to Lantau Island (From TST station to Lantau is about 16HK$ I think – with a short stopover at Hong Kong Station). We land at Lantau Station and immediately notice some drizzling. It was fine and all, and I was a bit happy about it to be honest because already some fog was forming on the ground. We head towards the nearby mall to buy some gloves (I was wearing very light clothing) because my hands were freezing. Anyway, we took the cable car to Ngong Ping Island instead of the Bus (the bus is considerably cheaper) but we wanted the whole experience. The sign cautioned cable car passengers that vision will be compromised due to the fog.. IT WAS. I hardly saw anything.. and my clothes were a damp by the time we land in Ngong Ping because the cable car has open slits at the seat area. Anyway, Ngong Ping Village was amazingly surreal.. maybe the fog helped with that a bit, like being inside the Silent Hill movie but not horror. I really didn’t see everything because my vision was limited to about 10km ahead of me. We headed straight to the Big Buddha, following a trail and climbed the 100+ steps up to the Buddha. It was exhausting.. and we had to stop a couple of times and up until we were almost at the top that we saw that fantastic mystical big buddha all covered in fog. It would have been even more fantastic if the sun was shining and everything was clear. Nonetheless, it was still amazing and it was picture-wise, quite mystical. On top, you could hear the monks at the Po Lin Monastery chanting.. seeing only the tops of pine trees covered with fog, looking up at the big buddha was a very spiritual and fantastic experience. Will come back for sure to see it in the sunshine!
Big Buddha – worth a look
Reviewed on Mar 30, 2009
We saw the Buddha during our stay in HK. It is pretty amazing I must say. We also did the monkey theatre and walking with the buddha while up in the village. The village itself is full of shops of course, but all very nice and cute. A must see while in Hong Kong.
A must see in Hong Kong
Reviewed on Jan 15, 2009
Worlds biggest Buddha Do visit the world’s largest outdoor bronze statue of Buddha on Lantua Island, Ngong Ping, it was a great trip out of the city. Avoid the weekends, which are apparently chaotic. Take the MTR Tung Chung Line to Tung Chung Station (Hong Kong Station to Tung Chung Station 1 Hr) Three ways to get up to the mountain top. 1. Walk 3 ? 4 hours on concrete path. A major hike, with 3 false hill tops. Not for the faint hearted. 2. Take No. 23 Bus (Not sure how often it leaves- but it was waiting as we got off the tube (train/tram). The bus takes a bone shaking ride along hair pin bends, where we had three near crashes with oncoming traffic. Cost $16 HK. It was a real experience and we saw other sides of the island (including the prison and dam). At least take it one way (best up). 3. Sky Train – Cost $68HK one way. A very scenic cable car, which takes you up the mountain, above the airport, to the mock Chinese village, with genuine western prices! Walk up through the village to the Big Buddha. The long steps up to the Big Buddha are free. Some elderly and obese tourists struggled. However purchase a coupon for entry into the 3 levels exhibition hall beneath the Big Buddha Go inside the Buddha and see 2 religious relics for about $30 (but you do get an ice-cream and bottle of water and a free tour of the candy store). The visit to the Big Buddha left impressionable memories for our children 6&8. It?s an amazing view and must see in Hong Kong. The Po Lin Monastery next door was worth a quick visit. If you need to save money, wait to eat until you get back down to the shopping mall at the cable car base. Very western style eateries are there, if that?s your fancy.