Jirisan Trekking Course

The next morning Laura headed back to Daegu, while Mara and I intended to hike a second trail. An early morning call to tourist information (dial 1330) convinced us to take a bus down the mountain to Gurye (20 minutes), then a second bus to Namwon (an hour) in order to hike through Piagol Valley. Once we go to Namwon, we found out that tourist information didn't know where a bus was for the valley, so simply told us Namwon instead of looking it up. There was no bus from Namwon. Fantastic. A few furious phone calls later, we were given a few options on hikes from the Namwon area, which I will describe below:

Option 1: Baesung Valley

We arrived in Namwon around 10 am, but the earliest bus to the Baesung area was at 12:40. It was estimated to be a four hour hike, so it wasn't possible due to the time constraints. I had trouble finding any information on this course online.

Option 2: Baraebong Course

Take a taxi to Woonbong Terminal, walk for 20 minutes to Herb Valley, which is the starting point of the course. It is estimated to take 4.5 hours and is 9.4 km long. We didn't have time for this one, either. Detailed information can be found here, which is part of Korea's National Park website.

Option 3: Jirisan Trekking Trail

This is the suggestion we went with, it is about an 18 km trek around the mountain area, and is exceptionally beautiful. I should point out the only difference from a hike and a trail is that a hike actually has a summit, otherwise they are the same. Don't expect it to be a leisurely stroll!

Directions: Leave the Namwon Bus Terminal and cross the street, take bus number 101, 102, or 1-102 to Jucheon (ride is about 10 minutes and costs 1,000 won). Get off at the building pictured below, it is tourist information. See the sign with that hiker? Follow him, right down the street, and in about 1 km, it will lead you through the farms and into the mountain area.

Namwon is on the list of top 20 most beautiful rural areas in Korea, and I can see why.

I love the rocks around Korea, and even more when I see trees breaking through them- thriving under impossible circumstances.

This website, 10mag.com, has some great information on the Jirisan Trekking Trail. Check it out, especially if you intend to stay overnight on the trail!

It was a two hour bus ride from Namwon to Daegu, but the buses are not too frequent. The last one leaves at 6:10 pm and ends at Seobu Bus Terminal in Daegu. From there, walk to the street, turn right and you'll see Seongdangmot Subway Station (on the red line).

Jirisan National Park (Hwaeomsa to Nogodan)

We left the Green Tea Fields, and went to Jirisan National Park. We took a bus to Gurye from Gwangju (since we were already there). If you're coming from another area, I recommend looking at this blog, Korea in the Clouds, for their bus information.

Once in Gurye, we got a bus to Hwaeomsa (temple). Everyone else on the bus took it all the way up to Nogodan, but we had planned on hiking the 6.5 km trail up.

The bus dropped us off outside of the tourist information center. We inquired about staying in a mountain shelter, but Nogodan's shelter needed a 3 day reservation. So, we dropped our extra clothing off in a minbak (towels and bedding provided, one night in a the spacious room for 40,000 won).

Walking up the road to Hwaeomsa, we noticed a handful of monks wearing interesting outfits. We soon figured out why..

A famous Buddhist monk had passed away, and they were holding a huge funeral for him. We waited with a huge crowd of Koreans for the service to start. It was something I never thought I would happen upon, but it was eye-opening to say the least. Men and women filed in carrying these banners and created a circle around the white circular building pictured below:

They were chanting in Korean.

They brought the body up and placed it in the circular white building.

The monks with the orange outer clothing made an interior circle and lit the circular building on fire. Here is a video of it, if you turn the sound up you should be able to hear some of the chanting as well.

It was without a doubt one of the most interesting experiences I've had in Korea so far.

Hwaeomsa is an awesome temple.

One unique feature of Hwaeomsa is the fact that some of the buildings are plain wood - none of the colorful paint typical in Korean-style Buddhist temples. At first, I assumed they were new buildings, waiting for the elaborate paint. Once I read the information available though, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a huge change from the norm, and the juxtaposition between the wood and painted buildings is stunning.

From Hwaeomsa, the trail to Nogodan Ridge is 6.5 km and is estimated to take around 3 hours. The trail is very easy and gradual at first. It is a very beautiful park.

Of course, it got rather steep and at times, strenuous. With about 2 km left, we reached a road. We walked to the right, which lead to the Nogodan rest area (bathrooms, the shelter, an area permitting cooking if you bring your own portable range, and a small stall selling basic food - ramen, canned food, candy, crackers, coffee, water). Mara and I walked past these, and hiked up the last .4 km to see the ridge.

It was getting dark by the time we reached the summit, but it was a beautiful sight. Luckily, we could take a bus down the mountain. We walked back towards the Nogodan shelter, then kept going on that road. After 3 km, we reached an area with an Angel-in-us Coffee, a hiking store, and some food vendors. We grabbed a quick snack and caught the last bus down the mountain at 6:20 pm.

Boseong's Green Tea Fields

Mara, Laura, and I went to the Boseong Daehan Dawon Tea Plantations. They are outside of Gwangju in Jeollanam-do.

Getting there: We took a bus from Dongdaegu Express Bus Terminal to Gwangju (on the same side of the street as the subway stop). It takes about 3.5 hours and costs 19,000 won. From Gwangju, we took a bus to Boseong (1.5 hours, 7,800 won). Then, we took a shuttle bus to the Green Tea Plantations (20 minutes, 1,100 won). Here are some useful time tables:

Schedule from Boseong Bus Terminal to the Green Tea Fields. The bus costs 1,100 won and takes about 20 minutes.

Schedule from Boseong Terminal to Gwangju

The admission to get inside the plantation is 2,000 won.

We walked up and around the fields, and it was a really beautiful area.

Of course, we had to get some green tea ice cream!

On the way back we stopped at "Da Beach," which is a nice hotel/wedding hall (I believe?), but also has a large jjimjilbang with green and black tea baths. It costs about 6,000 won and provided two towels each person. Getting there: take a cab and say "da beach-ee." If you're coming from the fields, it costs under 7,000 won. There may be a bus, but we couldn't find one.

I recommend spending some time in Damyang's bamboo forest and Gwangju if you are in the Boseong area. For some ideas, check out my post from my trip last year.

Gatbawi

Blair, Pete, and I hiked up to Gatbawi this past weekend. There are a couple beautiful temples on the way, and Gatbawi is a famous Buddha statue in the region.

The one downside is that this is a very crowded trail; here's a shot of the beginning of the trail. I'd tried it before and given up, partly due to a hang over. Now, spending my weekends sober and going to bed early, it was an easy afternoon.

After 1.2 km, you will reach this temple. There are two trails to Gatbawi from this point, on the right it is mostly rocks with some steps, and is 1km longer. The one on the left is very steep and is almost entirely steps. We took the less steep one up, and it was less crowded, an enjoyable hike. The way down, we took the steps. It wasn't terrible, but the trail was crowded.

This is 갓바위 (Gatbawi). Gat means hat and bawi means rock, so the name is quite fitting. Its a single slab of granite, and is 4m tall.

Directions take the 401 to the last stop. Chances are you will be standing the entire way on the bus, as it is always crowded. Also, when you're leaving Gatbawi, there will be a long line of hikers trying to get on the bus. If you are going to a few different tourist locations, though, you can take the Daegu City Tour, which leaves from Dongdaegu Korail Station (go out to the cab turn around, you'll see a tourist information stand and can buy a day pass there).