Minghong · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Highest mountain of Hong Kong
Tai Mo Shan is a mountain in China. Its summit stands 957 m above sea level. It is the highest point of HK.
From the lowest point within 5 km (4 m), it rises 953 m. The steepest side is the north-west face: 27° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 42° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.
The nearest town is New Territories, 2 km away at 231 m: 726 m below the summit.
Scores
Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.
Hiking & mountaineering
6.3/10
Difficulty to the top
Hike
Most path sections around the top are T2 on the SAC hiking scale.
Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.
Ski score
—
No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.
Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.
Plan your visit
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Snow
In a normal year there is no snow on this mountain, not even at the summit.
Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.
Summit weather
Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.
On an average July afternoon the summit reaches about 26 °C; on January nights it falls to about 8 °C. Afternoons at the top are above freezing in every month of the average year. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 6,090 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, December is the driest month (25 mm) and June the wettest (282 mm).
| Month | Summit high °C | Summit low °C | New Territories high °C | 0 °C line (m) | Rain & snow (mm) | Wet days | Sun h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15 | 8 | 19 | 3,970 | 36 | 5 | 4.0 |
| February | 17 | 10 | 20 | 4,270 | 29 | 7 | 3.0 |
| March | 19 | 13 | 22 | 4,710 | 72 | 10 | 2.5 |
| April | 22 | 16 | 25 | 5,250 | 104 | 13 | 3.2 |
| May | 24 | 20 | 28 | 5,750 | 210 | 18 | 4.5 |
| June | 25 | 22 | 29 | 5,970 | 282 | 22 | 4.8 |
| July | 26 | 22 | 29 | 6,090 | 185 | 21 | 6.6 |
| August | 26 | 22 | 29 | 6,090 | 218 | 22 | 6.0 |
| September | 25 | 21 | 29 | 6,010 | 160 | 16 | 5.8 |
| October | 24 | 18 | 27 | 5,650 | 49 | 6 | 6.1 |
| November | 20 | 14 | 24 | 5,050 | 30 | 4 | 5.3 |
| December | 16 | 9 | 20 | 4,210 | 25 | 4 | 4.7 |
Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 53 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.
Relief
Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 2× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.
Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.
Around the mountain
Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.
N
5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
元荃古道 Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail, 甲龍古道郊遊徑 Kap Lung Ancient Trail, 龍門郊遊徑 Lung Mun Country Trail, 川龍家樂徑 Chuen Lung Family Walk and 26 more
Lion Rock - West Face, Colin's Boulders, Radar Rocks, Shek Lung Kung and 6 more
龍泉谷 Dragon Valley, 筆架山觀景台 Beacon Hill Viewing Point, 青嶼幹線觀景台 Lantau Link Viewing Point, 香港回歸紀念塔 Tai Po Waterfront Park Lookout Tower and 51 more
鉛礦坳營地 Lead Mine Pass Campsite, 荃錦營地 Twisk Campsite, 沙田童軍中心 Shatin Scout Centre, 田夫仔營地 Tin Fu Tsai Campsite and 15 more
施樂園 Sze Lok Yuen, Wontonmeen, The Comfort Hotel Inn, 大埔賓館 Tai Po Villa and 68 more
8 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).
OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Photos
Recent years
Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–2020 average | 15 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 16 |
| 2020 | +2.2 | +0.6 | +1.2 | −1.5 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.7 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −1.0 | +0.4 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.2 | +2.0 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +2.6 | +0.8 | +0.7 | −0.3 | +1.0 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.7 |
| 2022 | +1.0 | −2.7 | +0.9 | −0.1 | −1.6 | −0.5 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.6 | −2.1 |
| 2023 | −0.3 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | +0.4 | +1.0 |
| 2024 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +2.3 | −0.8 | −0.2 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −0.2 |
| 2025 | +0.3 | −0.6 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.7 | −0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.8 | +1.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
| Names, elevation, prominence | Wikidata (Q1481864) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Relief, 3D view, profiles | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Around the mountain | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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