Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
150km²
Area
123km
Coastline
934m
Highest point
Lantau Peak
105,526
People
29°C
Warmest sea
August
2km
To the mainland
When to go to Lantau Island
Best for the beach from October to November.
The sea is warmest in August (29 °C) and coolest in February (19 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from April to November.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Largest island in Hong Kong
Lantau Island is an island in China. It covers 150 km², with 123 km of coastline. Its highest point, Lantau Peak, rises to 934 m. About 105,526 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2 km away.
Getting there
- Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 6 km in a straight line
- FerriesDiscovery Bay - Mui Wo, Cheung Chau - Sea Ranch (Private), Mui Wo - Chi Ma Wan (Inter Islands), Tuen Mun - Tung Chung - Sha Lo Wan - Tai O
- 2 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From October to Novemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Lantau Island.
- 54beachesPui O Beach, Tai Pak Beach, Silvermine Bay Beach and 51 more
- 43viewpointsStanding Rock, Silver Waterfall lookout, Kau Ling Chung View Compass and 40 more
- 1lighthousesFan Lau Light House
- 14ferry terminalsDiscovery Bay Pier, Kaito Pier, Silvermine Bay Ferry Pier and 11 more
- 3marinasA Dock, F Dock, Discovery Bay Marina Club
- 89named peaksLantau Peak, Sunset Peak, Lo Han Tower and 86 more
- 84waterfallsWong Lung Waterfall, Joh Lung Waterfall, Lung Mei Waterfall and 81 more
- 3castles and fortsTung Chung Battery, Tung Chung Fort
- 4ruins and archaeological sitesRock Carving at Shek Pik, Lime Kilns (c. Tang Dynasty), Fan Lau Fort and 1 more
- 24waymarked walking routesNgong Ping 360 Rescue Trail, Nei Lak Shan Country Trail, Lo Fu Tau Country Trail and 21 more
- 20campsitesMan Cheung Po Campsite, Tsin Yue Wan Campsite, Nga Ying Kok Campsite and 17 more
- 19hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 143restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Lantau Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Lantau Island, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
17mountainsPeakyas
1lakeLakeyas
Highest point
934m
Lantau Peak
prominence 934 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
0.82km²
Shek Pik Reservoir
according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
28.7°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
17 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Lantau Peakprominence 934 m934m
- Sunset Peak869m
- Lin Fa Shan766m
- Nei Lak Shan751m
- Yi Tung Shan747m
- Sam Shan Toi721m
- Por Kai Shan529m
- Pok To Yan529m
9 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Shek Pik Reservoir0.82km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 186 m above the sea. 62 % of it is below 200 m.
- 24 %0–50 m
- 38 %50–200 m
- 32 %200–500 m
- 6 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- San Tung Chung Hang116,000 people
- Tung Chung114,100 people
- Discovery Bay19,336 people
- Mui Wo Kau Tsuen5,485 people
- Pui O5,001 people
- Ngong Ping5,001 people
- Tai O3,300 people
- Lau Fau Shan2,230 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 19 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 25 | 21 |
| Night low (°C) | 13 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 23 | 19 | 14 |
| Sea (°C) | 19 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 20 |
| Rain (mm) | 35 | 29 | 69 | 109 | 231 | 288 | 197 | 234 | 173 | 56 | 29 | 21 |
| Wet days | 4 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Sun h/day | 3.8 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 6.5 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 4.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.1 | +0.2 | +1.0 | −0.1 | +1.2 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.8 | −0.8 | −1.2 | −0.8 |
| 2021 | −1.9 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +1.1 | +2.0 | +1.2 | +1.0 | −1.0 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +1.2 |
| 2022 | +0.8 | −0.9 | +0.2 | +0.6 | −0.3 | −0.4 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | −0.5 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.2 | −0.4 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +1.3 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +1.9 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +1.3 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.7 | −0.2 |
| 2025 | −1.2 | −1.7 | −0.8 | −0.3 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +0.3 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong79 km²552 m25 km away
Hong Kong International Airport
China2.5 km²8 m5 km away
Chek Lap KokChina21 km²71 m5 km away
Lamma IslandChina14 km²353 m21 km away
Tsing YiChina11 km²334 m17 km away
Ap Lei ChauChina1.3 km²193 m21 km away
Macau International AirportChina1.3 km²6 m40 km away
ColoaneChina7.6 km²124 m43 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q502379) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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