AT A GLANCE

Why go?

Cheung Muk Chau is a small, uninhabited islet in the Soko Islands (索罟群島), the southernmost cluster of Hong Kong's territory, sitting off the southwest coast of Lantau Island in the New Territories. There are no ferries, no facilities and no village here — this is a low, scrubby outcrop of granite that draws a particular kind of visitor: open-water swimmers, coasteerers and boat charters chasing sea caves, natural arches and bird colonies.↗↗↗

The island rewards a careful lap of its shoreline. Visitors report a deep sea cave that needs a torch, a square-windowed cave tunnel that's easy to spot from above but invisible from the water at high tide, a low crawling-height cave that opens onto a tiny hidden beach, and a delicate natural rock arch that most passers-by miss. A big, isolated tree marks the western shore. Two smaller islets, Tai Ko Pai and Siu Ko Pai, lie at short swimming distance and are densely populated by seabirds.↗

The setting comes with caveats. The water is murky — the Soko Islands sit where the Pearl River estuary meets the South China Sea — and the islands are exposed, so a southeast swell can build quickly. Currents between Cheung Muk Chau and the neighbouring islets can run strongly enough to sweep a tired swimmer towards open water, and the surrounding seas are part of the South Lantau Marine Park, designated in 2022 to protect Chinese white dolphins and finless porpoises. Plan a boat drop-off and pick-up rather than a long open-water approach unless conditions, tide and your own skills all line up.