Monthly Archives: October 2015

South Korea, Travelinds

Bukhansan National Park

04 October 2015

Chuseok weekend is usually a great time of the year for outdoor activities and we headed off the Bukhansan National Park to hike. Cooler weather, clear skies, changing colours and a slight breeze made the hike all that much sweeter.

The mountain borders Seoul to the north and was used as a natural defence in ancient Korean dynasties. It is a large mountain area (visible from almost anywhere in Seoul if you look north) with a few main peaks, multiple entrances and varied levels of hiking difficulty.  It was amazing to go straight from the bustling city to the shady paths of the silent mountain.  Once we were on the mountain, in the stillness and sounds of nature, we completely forgot about the city behind us until the magnificent view points reminded us how close we really were.

As amateurs just hiking for the views, we didn’t really look at the difficulty levels, times or correct entrances and just headed to one on this directions list from Visit Korea. (Our choice was Bukhansan National Park – Gireum Station (Line 4), Exit 3. Take Bus 110B or 143, and get off at the last bus stop).

With these instructions, we took the subway to Gireum Station, then the 10-minute bus and ended up at the Bukhansan Jeongneung Information Centre (start of Recommended course #4 on the Dulle-gil trail). This is where we started hiking.  Being on the unfit side, we decided to head to Daeseongmun gate (on the board it was described as a medium-to-advanced hike, 3.4km, 2 hours 45 minutes).  From there we would see how we were feeling before deciding the next leg of the hike.  As it turns out, Daeseongmun gate was quite enough challenge for one day (we did it in less than 2 hours) and, since we had already found some beautiful views on the way up, we headed from there across to Daennammun gate and then down towards Bukhansan Gugi Ticket Office.

A rather beautiful adventure and a memorable day.

South Korea, Travelinds

Yeonginsan, South Korea

01 October 2015

Yeonginsan Natural Forest ( 영인산자연휴양림) is about twenty minutes from Asan.  It is a reserve for hiking, picnics, camping and outdoor activities, popular for school outings, families with young children and hikers.  It is stunning in spring and autumn and has lush green scenery in the summer.  We’d imagine winter would be very pretty in the snow, but hiking in the cold and snow is not our idea of fun!

A ten minute drive from our apartment in Dunpo, it’s an easy morning out if we feel like some exercise with a view.  It is a course that lends itself well to all levels of hikers.  It is possible to walk to all the major points from the central area and back to the middle again, or from point-to-point in a circuit if you’re a more serious hiker and require more of a challenge.

  • Cost:

    • 1,000 KRW pp for Asan or Cheonan residents
    • 2,000 KRW for others

  • Parking:

    There are parking lots below the mountain, at the entrance to the reserve (where the swimming pool and chalets are) and further up near the education centre and cable car.

    • [We usually park (for free) at the bottom entrance to the hiking trail and walk up the 2 km to the central picnic area, passing the ticket booth on the way.]

  • Bus:

    There are two bus stops in Yeongin-myeon, the Middle School stop (영인중학교 1979(아산)) is closest to the hiking trails, but the Nonghyup stop (영인농협 637(아산)) is just a few minutes further.

    • From both bus stops both, if you carry on walking up the main road towards the mountain, you will come to the beginning of the trail on your right. (It’s opposite the dirt parking lot)
Yeonginsan
The bus stop in Yeonginsasn.
Next up:
The following weekend, Travelinds ventured out to Bukhansan National Park in Seoul – a more challenging hike than Yeonginsan.