Discover Macau: a weekend in Coloane

With a quaint village and green open spaces, Coloane is a haven of peace and tranquillity. Miles from the hustle and bustle of the casinos and the shopping on the Cotai Strip, Macau’s southern-most territory has more to offer than just egg tarts and pandas, as it was discovered on a recent weekend.

Day 1

Begin your Coloane staycation with a bit of huffing and puffing as you hit the trails and scale Macau’s largest “mountain”, Alto de Coloane. At 170 metres, it’s no Mount Everest, but it should be enough to get the heart pumping. With a variety of access points and trails, there are plenty of options for a range of fitness levels, and there is also a shuttle for those unable to hike or who are short on time. 

You can spend a good hour at the top admiring A-Ma Cultural Village. The intricately decorated pavilion-style front gate ushers you towards the village’s gem at the centre, Tin Hau Temple. There are also a handful of other things to see in the 7,000-square-metre complex.

Nearby is a 20-metre statue of the goddess A-Ma. A popular local legend tells of the story of a junk sailing across the South China Sea which was caught in a tremendous storm and on the verge of sinking until a beautiful young woman, A-Ma, ordered the elements to calm down, allowing the junk to reach land safely. The goddess remains an important figure in Macau, having inspired the original name of the territory - A-Ma Gau, or “Bay of A-Ma”.

After breathing in the fresh mountain air, make your way to Coloane Village. While the Chapel of St Francis Xavier is Coloane’s most selfie-worthy spot, the monument standing at the opposite end of Eduardo Marques Square is drenched in history. It commemorates a victory over pirates who had routinely pillaged peasants and fishermen in Coloane for decades. In 1910, the pirates captured a group of local children and held them for a hefty ransom, but the residents fought back and after days of intense battle, the children were freed.