NGong Ping 360 Experience and Lantau Island

By -
Site Name: NGong Ping 360 Experience and Lantau Island
Site Type:     Trekking, Buddhist temple, Monastery, Themed Village, Cable Car
Location:  Tung Chung, Hong Kong
Highlights: Spectacular 5.7 kms cable car journey; World's tallest seated outdoor bronze Buddha statue
Nearest Train Station: MTR Tung Chung 
Nearest Airport: Hong Kong
How to reach: Easily accessible by road; Tung Chung MTR station is nearby; Buses are available from various locations of Hong Kong
Hotel: Plenty of options in all ranges around this area
Restaurants: A lot of options in Lantau Island
Opening Hours: Weekday - 10 am - 6 pm; Weekends & Holidays - 9:00 am to 6:30 pm
Ticket Fare: Standard cabin - HKD 94; Crystal cabin - HKD 149 (For complete details on fare, check the NGong Ping website)
Website: www.np360.com.hk/en

After visiting Ocean Park and Disney Land and doing shopping in few popular markets, if you claim that you have visited Hong Kong, you might sound incorrect. Your visit to Hong Kong will be incomplete if you do not visit NGong Ping and Lantau Island. This is one of 'must see' places of Hong Kong. You need one full day to cover all the attractions in this site. Let us explore all these attractions in detail.

NGong Ping Cable Car

It is a joyful 25 minutes ride on 5.7 km bi-cable ropeway. The cable car journey begins from Tung Chung and ends at NGong Ping village. You can get spectacular views of South China Sea, grassland slopes of North Lantau Country Park, Hong Kong International Airport, Tian Tan Buddha statue, mountains of Lantau Island and Ngong Ping Plateau. This wonderful experience is something which you cannot forget in your entire lifetime. It will definitely refresh your mind and body. If you need the best experience, go for crystal cabin with the glass bottom or private cabin. 

NGong Ping Village

NGong Ping village is set on a 1.5 hectare site on Lantau island. This is the first site that you reach after you get down from the cable car. This is a culturally themed village. It has several tourist attractions such as Walking with Buddha (a multimedia attraction that talks about the life of Buddha), Bodhi Wishing shrine, model cable cars from different countries and a lot of retail, dining and entertainment options. 

Twelve Divine Generals

The wide path between the NGong Ping Village and Tian Tan Buddha has the huge statues of the twelve divine generals of Chinese religion. Each of them represent a particular zodiac sign of Chinese calendar. Each of them appear in different poses, hold different weapons and also have the animal/bird symbol on their head. (One of the generals is named as Indira - similar to Hindu mythological character).

Tian Tan Buddha

Tian Tan Buddha - the giant bronze statue of Buddha, weighing over 250 tonnes is one of the most significant sites of Lantau island. It is considered as "one of ten engineering wonders of Hong Kong". The 34 meter tall Buddha statue stands on three storey building which can be reached by a flight of 268 steps. The north facing Buddha statue is in the sitting posture with his right hand depicting "abhaya (fear not) mudra". He is sitting on a lotus petals. There are six big bronze statues of Devas in different dancing postures with different offerings to Buddha situated in the complex. The relic of the Buddha is found in the third floor of the building. There are few important paintings depicting the life of Buddha and a giant bell inside the building. 

If you are a hard core vegetarian, there is a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant located within this complex.

Po Lin Monastery

The hundred years old Po Lin Monastery which is located near the Tian Tan Buddha statue is a calm and serene place. It has the Happy Buddha as the main deity with few other Buddhist deities in three separate sub-shrines.

Wisdom Path

The Wisdom Path which can be reached in 15 minutes trekking from Po Lin Monastery features an arrangement of 38 giant wood columns measuring 8-10 meters tall and 1 meter wide. They showcase the calligraphic work of Professor Jao Tsung-I, the master of Chinese studies. The calligraphic works are from Heart Sutra. The height and positioning of each column are designed to correspond to the topography of the landscape and are planted in a figure of eight configuration symbolising infinity.

Trekking

There are many trekking options present in Lantau island. There are trekkers who trek all the way from Tung Chung to NGong Ping village. When you travel through the cable car, you can find these trekkers and the trekking path below you. Beyond the Wisdom Path, there is a trekking path for about 5 kms surrounded by beautiful trees and spectacular views.

Visit this place to claim that you have "really" covered Hong Kong. :-)

Happy travelling.




View Larger Map
Location: Ngong Ping Trail

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tallest Murugan of Chennai

By -
Image
Consecrated in March 2021, the 40 feet high Bala Murugan icon at Saveetha Medical College campus is the tallest image of Murugan in Chennai. Malaysia has 140 feet tall Murugan. In April 2022, the 146 feet tall image of Murugan was consecrated near Salem in Tamil Nadu. However, they are all stucco images. But, the one that we find on the college campus is a monolithic granite icon. Thus, it is the tallest stone icon of Murugan in the entire world. A stone weighing 320 tonnes was brought from Siruvambur near Wallajah, and it was carved to 140 tonnes to get this beautiful and gigantic sculpture. The entire temple complex is designed in the shape of the Devanagiri letter "Om", which can be appreciated in the aerial view.  The west-facing gigantic sculpture is located atop the star-shaped pedestal. It dominates the entire landscape. A large meditation hall is situated below the pedestal. On the open corridor in front of the presiding deity, smaller shrines are found. They enshrine
Read more

Putlur Angala Parameswari Temple - Chennai

By -
Image
Angala Parameswari Temple in Putlur, near  Chennai  city of South India, is a unique temple. The Goddess is in the form of a pregnant woman in this temple. The icon of Angala Parameswari is believed to be self-manifested, called swayambhu.  As per the legend, a village head tortured a poor for borrowed money. The poor was forced to plough an infertile land. While ploughing the ground full of rocks, the villager noticed that blood was oozing out from a particular place. There, he discovered the image of the Goddess. It is a snake hole (putru in Tamil - where snakes live) in the form of a woman in a sleeping posture with her mouth kept open, and her bulged stomach like a pregnant woman. The villagers built a temple with this putru and named the Goddess Angala Parameswari. Hence, they started calling the village Putlur the town with the divine Putru.  Putlur Angala Parameswari temple is basically a village temple. It is visited by thousands of people. Primarily it will be tough to en
Read more

A 17th century Dargah with healing power - Mount Road Dargah, Chennai, India

By -
Image
Mount Road or Anna Salai is one of the most happening places in  Chennai . There are two famous Islamic shrines on Mount Road – one is  Thousands Light mosque . The other one is Dargah-e-Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi (Rahmatullah Alaihi), also known as Mount Road Dargah. It is the most popular Dargah across the city. It draws devotees of all faiths and all walks of life. Especially every Thursday, a large number of devotees gather to the Dargah. A lot of city-based celebrities regularly visit the site. This Dargah is the shrine of a Muslim Saint named Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi. He was also known as Rahmatullah Alaihi. Hazrath Syed Moosa Shah Qadri Baghdadi arrived from Baghdad in the middle of the 17th Century CE. He made Chennai his home and lived here. It is believed that he had healing powers. During his time, he had so many devotees regularly visiting him. After his demise, his family buried him next to his house, which is the current Dargah. You can easily lo
Read more