Jeju #3: Hiking Hallasan


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Asia » South Korea » Jeju » Mount Halla
June 6th 2015
Published: July 21st 2015
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I was up at the crack of dawn, not long after five am. I dressed and went to the kitchen to pick up my supplies, and knock an energy drink back. I headed out to the bus stop, which was on the main street in front of the hostel, very convenient. I got there just before 6 am, and there were already a lot of people waiting for it, hikers and other people. I was wondering why the other people were up and about so early, I am definitely not a morning person, so struggle to see why people would get up so early if not for a special reason. The bus came not long after 6 am. The bus originates at the bus station and where I got on at City Hall was the second stop. I managed to get a seat, but the bus was soon full, and lots of people had to stand.

The journey took around 30 minutes and the bus drops you right in front of the park entrance at Seongpanak. There are five routes in Hallasan National Park that are open to the public, however not all are easily accessible by public transport, and not all routes go to the peak. I was doing the Seongpanak trail, which is the most popular, and also very easy to access. I would have liked to do the Geumsansa trail, which also goes to the peak, but it was closed for some reason. I think it would have been nice to combine the two trails, but maybe one day in the future. When I arrived at the start of the trail, the area was heaving! The car park was full and people were having to park on the road. There are some toilets at the park office, so I used those and went to look at the trail map.

Hallasan National Park was designated as a national park on the 24th March 1970 and it became a UNESCO 'Biosphere Reserve' in December 2002. The peak reaches 1950 metres above sea level, making it the highest peak in South Korea, but not the whole Korean peninsula, that claim goes to Baekdusan in North Korea, which is 2,744 metres high. The volcano is now dormant but it exploded once during the 4th Cenozoic era. The first part of the trail wasn't very strenuous, it was quite busy, but not packed. The hike was pretty much all under the cover of the trees, so it was nice and shaded. I hiked about 4 kilometres to the first shelter, Sokbat shelter, where I took a little rest. This shelter was pretty busy, there was a building where people could rest inside, but since the weather was nice, most people were outside. I found a spot on a bench and devoured some kimbap for breakfast. I was branching out and having beef kimbap instead of my usual tuna. It made a nice change. Some women, who I was sharing the bench with offered me some of their fruit, so kind. I didn't stay too long at the shelter as I wanted to keep going to reach the peak.

As I continued on the trail gradually got steeper. It was also a lot more busy, there were tonnes of people. From Sokbat shelter, it was only just over 3 kilometres to the next shelter. I kept a slow and steady pace, there were many, many people overtaking me. The next shelter, Jindallaebat, was a lot bigger. I think there is a store there, where you can purchase snacks and drinks, however I never went in. There is lots of benches and places to sit, so I took a rest. This shelter is out in the open, so I made sure to apply plenty of sun cream. It was really busy here with people taking a break before doing the last slog to the peak, or having a rest after having made it up there. The weather was glorious and there were lots of pretty flowers growing. However, the air was a bit ripe! There is a large toilet block and it is all au natural, no flushing facilities. I made sure to sit as gar away as possible form them.

At last, the peak was almost within my grasp. From Jindallaebat Shelter it is only 2.3 kilometres to the peak. The trail was nice and open, no more tree coverage. The first part was a small trail with lots of small plants around it. Then it opened out a lot more. I could see the peak in the distance, the trail seemed to snake up the side of the mountain. Looking down the views were pretty, lots of fields and pretty coloured flowers. Of course, no hike in Korea is
One Thousand MetersOne Thousand MetersOne Thousand Meters

Only 950 meters to climb!
complete without the obligatory steps, and the final push was up a lot of steps to the peak. Some of the steps looked pretty ropey, so I had to be careful where I placed my feet. The views down on the countryside were pretty. I could see purple bushes growing on the hillside. I was so happy when I made it to the peak. There is a big platform there, with the peak marker and various information boards. It was heaving there were about a million people there, that is only a slight exaggeration.

I got to the peak around 11 am. I headed straight to the viewpoint so that I could see Baengnokdam, which is a crater lake at the centre of the summit. I had seen loads of photos of Baengnokdam, on the internet and from friends who had been there. It was really pretty, and looked serene, as it was fenced off so no one could get to it. Baengnokdam means white deer lake, coming from the legend that the founding fathers of Jeju used to play with and ride white deers. The size and depth of the lake varies according to the season. I must have took a million photos of the peak. I then found a spot to sit and have something to eat and drink, before lying down for a little nap. The sun was feeling pretty fierce, so I didn't nap for long. I must have spent about half an hour at the peak, before deciding to head back down.

I had knocked an energy drink back, while I was at the peak, as I needed a good hit of caffeine. It definitely gave me a lift and I practically sprinted down the mountain. Since I was going down the same trail I had come up, I didn't linger, as I had took my time on the way up and seen everything I had wanted to see. There were a couple of ajoshis in front of me, and they were going fast, so I tried to keep pace with them, a few steps backs. I managed to keep up with them for most of the way, definitely the first six or so kilometres. I was feeling pretty tired by the end and had slowed down a lot for the last kilometre or two. The trail didn't feel as busy coming down. There were some parts when I felt like I was alone as the people in front and behind me were out of view. I made good timing coming down. I left the peak around 11:30 am and reached the end of the trail at 2:10. So two hours and forty minutes to descend. A 19.2 kilometre hike completed! I headed over to the bus stop, and the bus was due in about ten minutes. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. I was happy that I had conquered the highest peak in the Republic of Korea. I could see all the way up to the top of the mountain from the bus stop. I headed back to Jeju City and had a very lazy rest of the day.


Additional photos below
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Seongpanak Trail


18th April 2016

Great photos!
Lovely photos. Looks like a nice hike to do in the sprintime. I however went in the winter and it was quite difficult without crampons! http://ramblinmurph.com/2015/04/28/seeking-the-summit-of-hallasan/
28th April 2016

Thanks. I bet it was beautiful in winter. I thought the toilets would smell better though. I enjoyed reading your blog.

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