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Victoria Peak is a mountain in Hong Kong. It is also known as The Peak locally, and Mount Austin in some maps or documents. The mountain is located in the southwestern part of the Hong Kong Island. With an altitude of 552 m, it is the highest mountain on the island, although far from the highest in the territory.
The actual summit of Victoria Peak is occupied by a telecommunications facility and is closed to the public. However the surrounding area comprises a mixture of publicly accessible parkland, and high value residential land, and it is this area that is normally meant by the name The Peak. The Peak offers spectacular views over central Hong Kong, the Harbour and surrounding islands, and is a major tourist attraction. With some seven million visitors every year, the Peak is the biggest tourist attraction in Hong Kong. It offers spectacular views of the city and bay. The number of visitors has resulting in the building of two major leisure and shopping centres, the Peak Tower and the Peak Galleria, situated adjacent to each other at Victoria Gap. The Peak Tower incorporates the upper station of the Peak Tram funicular railway that brings passengers up from Central district, whilst the Peak Galleria incorporates the bus station used by the public bus and green minibus services to the Peak. The Peak is also accessible by taxi and private car via the circuitous Peak Road, or by walking up the steep Old Peak Road from the mid-levels.
Victoria Peak Garden is located on the site of Mountain Lodge, the Governor's old summer residence, and is the closest publicly accessible point to the summit. It can be reached from Victoria Gap by walking up Mount Austin Road, a climb of about 150 metres. Another popular walk is the level loop is along Lugard Road, giving good views of Central district and Kowloon, and then returning via Harlech Road, encircling the summit at the level of the Peak Tower. There are several restaurants on Victoria Peak. Most of them are located in the shopping complexes, the Peak Tower and the Peak Galleria. However one of the most famous, the Peak Lookout Restaurant, is housed in an older and more traditional building. Originally a rooming house for engineers working on the Peak Tramway, it was rebuilt in 1901 as a stop area for private or public sedan chairs, and opened as a restaurant in 1947.
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