Autumn is the best time to do mountain climbing. The leaves of the trees are very colorful. The weather can be warm and cool at the same time. It’s not too hot, and not too cold.
Mt. Gwanaksan is one of the beautiful mountains located in Seoul, South Korea. The hiking route is pretty easy and the trail is pretty!
Karla, Travel with Karla
Let’s talk about Mt. Gwanaksan.
Gwanaksan literally means “mountain of the hat-shaped peak.” The mountain is 629 meters high. It is located in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
It has many entry points. There’s one at Anyang Sports Stadium, Gwacheon Station, Seoul National University, and Sadang Station. But I chose the one that my friend suggested. We used the entry point near Government Complex Gwacheon (Exit 11). It’s a 10-minute walk from the subway station. We’re not even there yet but we enjoyed the sidewalk going there.
The route starts at Gwacheon Hyanggyo. It’s only 500m away from Gwacheon Station. It’s a Confucian school established in 1389. I wasn’t able to take a photo of it, but you’ll see this view across it.
You can reach the peak in 1 hr and 30 mins. The trail is really easy to follow so I will just post some landmarks/ pictures going to the peak.
There are 8 stations:
- entrance
- 1.1KM mark
- Shelter
- 1.2KM mark, then the Spring
- Mountain Villa
- 0.5 KM mark
- Yeonjuam Hermitage
- Yeonjudae Peak
Here’s a picture of the spring. The water here is potable! You’ll know you’re halfway there when you see this.
Before reaching the peak, you’ll see a temple called Yeonjuam Hermitage. There’s a dining hall across this temple that serves bibimbap. It’s free! After eating, you have to clean the table and wash your own bowls. Avoid leftovers! Temple food shouldn’t be wasted.
Look at that temple on the cliff! Yeonjudae means “adoring the kingdom cliff”.
You’ll know you’re near when you see this radar equipment. It’s located at the summit but the employees can easily go there using a cable car exclusively for them.
Almost there!
Here’s the peak of Mt. Gwanaksan!
Want more stories about my hiking experience? Check out: Mt. Bukhansan.
Ang ganda ng mga puno, Ms Karla! Ang sarap mag-picture pag ganyan kaganda ang view! <3 <3
Hi Karla, how many hours did it take you to complete this hike? tia
around 5 hours po
Thank you for sharing Karla,your post reminds me of my trip to Korea in 2011. I went to Jeju Island among others during winter. Had a chance to climb up SeongSan Ilchubong and mount Hallasan halfway.
So scenic.
Hi Ms. Karla,
How would you rate the difficulty of this climb?
Super easy, you’re basically climbing stairs.