As you cut about the woods you will come across another crossroads. Take the right again to join the Little Hawaii Trail, and walk ahead following the signpost for O Tau. You’ll know you’re on the right path when you hear the bubbling and gurgling of the stream. After about half an hour from the first junction, you’ll find yourself next to the peaceful Little Hawaii Waterfalls.
We recommend visiting Little Hawaii after a rainy season to truly enjoy the cascades, but when the falls aren’t flowing as greatly, it’s much easier for visitors to climb the rocks for the best pictures. We admit, it’s not the most impressive waterfall in Hong Kong (and boy, do we have a lot of them), but it’s definitely the most easily accessible.
And now for a little history lesson: The trail and falls got its name in 1946 when the Tseng Lan Shue village chief renamed the old reservoir and dam as the Little Hawaii Swimming Centre. Why was there a reservoir and dam in the woods behind a village you may ask? Well, in 1906, a Canadian businessman by the name of Alfred Ronnie set up a mill in Tiu Keng Leng and built a small reservoir for water storage as well as a 100-foot dam to generate electricity. Unfortunately, he died shortly after the opening of the mill and the villagers nearby turned it into a private pool. The swimming centre was closed shortly after as well after a tragic accident, and you can still see the reservoir walls along the trail.