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.