The 552-metre heights of the Peak - officially Victoria Peak - give you the only perspective that matters in Hong Kong: down, and over Central and the magnificent harbour. Property on the Peak, which is clad in woodland and is a popular retreat from the high summer temperatures, has become the prerogative of the colony’s elite: residents include politicians, bank CEOs, various consulgenerals and assorted celebrities.

The best way to ascend is aboard the Peak Tram (daily 7am-midnight, every 10-15 min; $30 return, $20 one-way), a 1.4km-long funicular railway which has been in operation since 1888. The eight-minute ascent tackles 27-degree slopes, forcing you back into your wooden bench as the carriages are steadily hauled through the forest. The ride begins at the terminal on Garden Road and finishes at the Peak Tower, an ugly concrete structure generally referred to as the Flying Wok. Its sole virtue is the superb views from the top terrace, which encompass the harbour, Tsim Sha Tsui’s land reclamation projects and lowtech concrete tower blocks, right into the New Territories.

Further vistas can be savoured across the road, from the upper terrace of the Peak Galleria, a touristy shopping complex full of shops and restaurants. It’s a panorama that’s difficult to tire of - if you can manage it, come up again at night when the lights of Hong Kong transform the city into a glittering box of tricks.

You’re not yet at the top of the Peak itself: four roads pan out from the tower, one of which, Mount Austin Road, provides a stiff twenty-minute walk up to the landscaped Victoria Peak Garden. A circuit of the Peak via shady Harlech Road takes around an hour. First views are of Aberdeen and Lamma; as you turn later into Lugard Road, Kowloon and Central eventually come into sight. You can also walk back to Central from the Peak Tower in around forty minutes, via a path through the forest which emerges onto Robinson Road near the Zoo.