Lamma, also and previously known as Pok Liu Chau, is the third largest of all the islands in Hong Kong. Its name is an accident lost in the history of time, from a chart misreading by British sailor Alexander Dalrymple. Using Portuguese charts to navigate his way into Hong Kong in the 1760s, he mistook the word ‘lama’, meaning mud, and signifying the consistency of anchoring quality, to be the name of the island. Like mud itself, the name stuck.

 

In fact, there was life on Lamma way before the misnomer. Important archeological finds on the island pinpoint habitation back to Bronze Age times around 3800BC.

 

In more modern times, the two main settlements, Yung Shue Wan and the smaller Sok Kwu Wan – famed for its seafood restaurants – were fishing villages. Both are located on the north side of the island and are served by ferries from Central and Aberdeen. In recent times, the fisherfolk have made way for growing numbers of Hong Kong commuters, attracted by the relative peacefulness and convenience, and the appeal of a landscape where buildings over three storeys are prohibited, and there are no cars beyond bikes and village vehicles. There is a bohemian feel to the island, and it’s not surprise to learn of its popularity with artists and musicians.

 

One of its stellar residents was the actor Chow Yun-Fat, who grew up on the island in Wang Long village, close to Yung Shue Wan, where relatives still run a seafood restaurant.

 

Of the island’s three dominant landmarks, just one is natural. Mount Stenhouse is the island’s tallest peak, stretching 1,158 above sea level. For dedicated hikers , the summit offers spectacular views and interesting rock formations.

 

The other landmarks are very much man-made, and as visible – the chimneys of Hong Kong Electric’s power station, and tower and blades of the Lamma Winds turbine. Far form being an eyesore, although they’re not to everyone’s taste, tourist authorities are keen to market them as attractions.

 

Beyond the settled areas of the north, Lamma is a wilderness preserve with some villages accessible only by long hikes or boats. This includes Sham Wan, which is where the Bronze Age settlements were found, and where entry is prohibited between June and October each year to allow threatened turtles to breed on its beach.

 

Visitors come to Lamma to swim, stroll and eat. By following the Family Trail from Yung Shue Wan to Yung Shue Wan, you get a view of the power station, can swim at Hung Shing Ye beach, and then carry on to Sok Kwu Wan for a seafood dinner and a ferry home. What a day.