November 21, 2011

Sobaeksan National Park


The weather is finally getting cold in Korea. I had really wanted to see Sobaeksan National Park and Danyang for a few weeks now, because I planned out a weekend's worth of adventure. After a few weeks of bad timing and poor weather, I made it up there.

Transportation: Sobaeksan is north of Andong. Coming from Daegu you can take a bus to Yeongju from Bukbu Terminal (which is what we did) or take a bus or train from Dongdaegu to Danyang. This way is faster, but its not frequent. We went up to Yeongju, stayed there, went hiking on Saturday, stayed another night in Yeongju, and headed to Danyang early on Sunday. After Danyang, we took a bus back to Dongdaegu. It was a packed weekend.


Bus time table from Yeongju to Sobaeksan








Although the hike was beautiful, the view from the top left something to be desired. It was so foggy out, we couldn't see anything beyond the peak!




The previous two are bus time tables from the Huibangsa Service area. If you can't find the sign - look up, its taped to the ceiling of the seating area for the bus.


Danyang is beautiful.





We went paragliding! It was fantastic. They basically threw a giant backpack on us, hooked a few straps and asked us to run off of a cliff. No training or preparation needed, just put on a helmet and go.

Contact info: Dan Yang Club at 010-9072-4555. It costs 80,000 won per person to go tandem. Its open 7 days a week starting at 9 am. They will pick up guests at the bus terminal.


Next, we went to Gosu Cave. Its the largest limestone cave in the area and has been referred to as the "best in Korea" by a few of the travel sights. I adore the rock formations all over Korea, so of course, this was a highlight for me. There are three other caves in Danyang, which I did not go to, but I recommend checking at least one out if you're in the area.



I've written an article about this trip, and included a lot more information in that. I will include a link to that when its online.

2 comments:

  1. loved all the pictures, dad was jealous of your jump! I would have watched. I found the cave way more interesting,love the slagmights!

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  2. HI Britney Kay, thank you so much for your information.

    I'm Hang Dinh, a travel writer from Vietnam. I passed by your blog when researching information for my Sobaeksan hiking. If you don't mind, please take your time to help me.
    Next month, I wil take my South Korea winter trip for 30 days. I will depart from Gyeongju to Sobaeksan. However, I'm not sure should I go to Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do or Danyang, Chungcheongbuk-do? I choose the hiking trail from Samgari to Birobong peak and the National park entrance is located in Danyang. Now I'm pretty confused. I hope you would help me.

    About the Paragliding, it's so cool. I love to try it this time. How did you do that without training or preparation? What did happen when you landing?

    Please take your time to reply to my message. Thank you in advance.
    Hang Dinh

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