My recent visit to Macau was slightly different than my first one. I made it my mission to try and explore more of the off-the-beaten-track places. Macau is a small place, and it’s hard to get away from the gambling masses that swamp over Senado Square and the local tourist attractions, but I was able to find a few new places.
First up, the lovely Guia Hill, home to the UNESCO heritage site – the historical Guia Lighthouse and Fortress – with a cathedral dating back hundreds of years. I wasn’t sure what was on the hill, but when I heard there’s a cable car gondola in Macau I had to go check it out.
It’s a really short and old cable car, taking you up the hill for 2HKD. On the top are a few walking trails, mainly used by jogging locals, and for the visiting tourists are series of bunkers and tunnels used to defend Macau from atop.
The highlight, ofcourse, is the fortress and lighthouse on the southern side of the hill.
It’s a very old fort, dating back to 1622 aimed to help the Portuguese fend the city from the invading Dutch based in Taiwan. The lighthouse on top came a bit later during mid 19th century, to signal incoming ships. Also on top of the fort next to the lighthouse is a chapel -Saint Lazarus Parish, also dating back to when the fort was constructed. Some of the wall paintings still remain but photography is prohibited.
Another reason to go up on the hill is, ofcourse, to look down at Macau…
You can see the beautifully ugly Lisboa Casino and that Macau is also slowly transforming into a skyscraper heavy city.
On the hill is a museum, dedicated to the history of defending Macau from invaders…
The hill also served as a typhoon detection point, with all sorts of typhoon related alarm tools…
Walking around the fort you can expect to see…
And, finally, the old cable car that conveniently gets you up and down the hill.
Down the hill, is a very old and somewhat run down local zoo. Not really worth visiting, but if you’re already making your way down the hill by foot, as I did, might as well catch this about 50 meters before the cable car.
(Reminder to self – Clean the camera before every travel day 😛 )