Our fourth day in Hong Kong was reserved for Ngong Ping 360, which consists of a continuous circulating bi-cable aerial ropeway gondola lift system (referred to by its operators as a “cable car”) ride and a themed Ngong Ping Village, plus its nearby sites such as the Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha), Po Lin Monastery, and the Tai O Fishing Village .
Check out “Po Lin Monastery, Tian Tan Buddha “Tai O Fishing Village,” and Ngong Ping Village“
From Yau Ma Tei Station, we all took the Tsuen Wan line to Lai King where we transferred to the Tung Chung line (Orange Line) and got off at Tung Chung Station. As we all had an Octopus card (their equivalent of Singapore’s EZ-link card) plus Cheska easily found our way around on the MTR, getting there was a breeze. The whole trip took all of 40 mins., passing 9 stations along the way.
Once we got to Tung Chung station, we followed the signage out of the station (Exit B). Past Citygate Outlets, we found the Ngong Ping 360 cable car terminal. When we got there, the queue was long, with long waiting times, for those purchasing tickets on the spot even if this this was on a Wednesday afternoon. I could only imagine how bad it can get during peak periods. Lucky for us, Cheska used Klook to get us cheaper cable car tickets. At the Klook VIP counter, she simply flashed the e-voucher to redeem our physical ticket.
Once again, in order to avoid long queues, Cheska got us round trip tickets costing HK$210 each on Klook versus HK$255 on the official Ngong Ping 360’s website (tickets available two weeks in advance) which Cheska found reliable and easy to use, especially with her mobile app.
Her choice of the crystal cabin (the cable car with a glass bottom) was deliberate as the snaking queue for the standard, non-glass-bottomed cabin, though a fair bit cheaper, tended to be far longer. This turned out to be true. Both sets of cabins circulate on the same cable but their passengers are segregated by queuing systems at both terminals.
Past the queue, we got on the cable car. As they usually try to fit in about 7–8 people per cabin (and standing room for another 7) and our group was smaller than that, a couple joined us in our cabin.
It was to be a 25-minute, 5.7-km. (3.5 mi.) ride to Ngong Ping Village. The system has a capacity of 3,500 people per hour in each direction.
The lift system runs across eight towers (including the stations) with five of the towers located within the country park. From Tung Chung Terminal, our cable car ran across Tung Chung Bay to Airport Island Angle Station on Chek Lap Kok, where it turns through about 60 degrees before returning across Tung Chung Bay.
It then ran up the Lantau North Country Park to another angle station near Nei Lak Shan (Nei Lak Shan Angle Station), before finally descending to the Ngong Ping Terminal.
It changed direction twice at the two angle stations, one on the south shore of Chek Lap Kok; the other west of Nei Lak Shan within the Lantau North Country Park.
During the 25 minute journey, we had a stunning bird’s eye view, from our windows as well as from our transparent, three-layer 5 cm. thick glass floor, over the verdant landscape of North Lantau Country Park, the South China Sea, the southern shore of Hong Kong International Airport, the Tung Chung valley, Ngong Ping Plateau and surrounding terrain and waterways. As we approached Ngong Ping, we saw The Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery.
Ngong Ping Cable Car: Runs daily, 10 AM to 6 PM.
Pingback: Ngong Ping Village (Lantau Island, Hong Kong) – B.L.A.S.T. – Live Life to the Fullest ……… Don't Stay Put
Pingback: Ngong Ping Piazza (Lantau Island, Hong Kong) – B.L.A.S.T. – Live Life to the Fullest ……… Don't Stay Put
Pingback: Po Lin Monastery (Lantau Island, Hong Kong) – B.L.A.S.T. – Live Life to the Fullest ……… Don't Stay Put