Big Buddha
If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.
Ngong Ping 360 is a culturally themed village set in the highlands of Lantau Island. You can comfortably get there by taking a 5.7km breathtakingly long cable car ride from Tung Chung. The airport is just a 5 mins drive from there, so if you have an evening flight to catch its advisable to take a day tour of Big Buddha on the same day.
During the ride, you get a birds-eye view of the Hong Kong International Airport, South China Sea and the Giant Buddha. The other way to reach there is also to take a mix of a ferry and bus tour, but again we suggest you skip that unless you wanna have an adventurous and scenic ride and stick to the comforts of the cable car.
The Cable Car is the high point of the entire tour. They have normal cable cars and also cable cars that have specially equipped glass-bottomed cabins ( which are obviously more expensive than the normal cars), which allows a splendid and thrilling view of the sea and mountains. It’s a long ride of 5.7kms, swinging up to 112 feet high up in the air, wherein you cross almost 7 towers!!!!
The statue itself is the world’s largest outdoor sitting statue of Buddha made out of bronze. It stands at 110 ft high and sits on a platform which is reached by climbing 268 steps..Phew! You really think I did climb those… Naah!! It’s free to get this far, but if you want to go inside (where there’s an exhibition on Buddhism, the construction of the statue and access to the upper platform) you have to buy a food ticket. The ticket costs about $4 and can be redeemed at the nearby vegetarian restaurant or one of the snack kiosks around the Buddha.
The views from both the lower and upper platforms over Lantau are awesome and the statue is undoubtedly impressive, but apparently there’s no real history to the statue.
After getting off the cable car you’re greeted by a “Chinese Style” village. It’s a pleasant stroll with a lineup of shops selling souvenirs, stuff here isn’t all that great unless you want a t-shirt with a monkey on it or a few gemstones… The only thing great here is a shop that sells Chinese Balms and aroma therapy oils. The Chinese Balms are amazing and definitely a must buy !! The bus station is behind the village. Walk straight through and out the other side to get to the Buddha.
There are also the Walking With The Buddha multimedia show, which takes you thru the life of Siddharth Gautam . the other show is Monkey Tale Theatre comical show inspired by the Jakata Tales. Set in a magical courtyard under the Bodhi Tree, this show will engage guests of all ages. Once your thru with this, keep walking and a small wooded trail near the grounds of the Buddha will take you through a paved nature walk known as the Wisdom Path. This is also part of the Lantau Trail, which covers one of Hong Kong’s highest peaks.
All in all budget at least HK $500 for two people for the transport and drinks/lunch etc, and expect to spend the whole day out and about in an experience of a kind. And yeah don’t forget your sneakers.. There is loads of walking to do !!
