Have you noticed, that Okinawa – the Japanese beach paradise is just a stone’s throw away from South-Korea? And you can reach it within less than 2,5h flight. It almost as close as Busan, isn’t it? ?.
Escape to Okinawa, Japan
Escape to Cebu, Philippines
To be honest, recently it’s not really enjoyable in Seoul. It’s too cold, windy and the air quality is so bad ?. How about escape to a warmer place? Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, etc. are quite close to Korea, aren’t they? Let’s consider Cebu, a tropical island of the Philippines.
Why Cebu?
Good things to know before go hiking in South-Korea
Have you heard that more than 60% the entire surface of South-Korea are mountains? No wonder, that there are so many hikers, rock climbers and mountain lovers in this country.
During the last months, I had many chances to go hiking and climbing, because the weather was just right for it. On my trips, I could not only enjoy the stunning landscape of Korean mountains, but also gain a lot of new experiences and knowledges about Korea. Each step was worthy!
If you’re also interested in hiking in South-Korea, please read this post. It’s a guide for your orientation while preparing for your trip.
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A Multiple-day Hike on Jirisan 2 – [Gyeongsang][Jeolla]
After the first cold and windy hike on the first day, we could luckily rest and sleep well at Yeonhacheon Shelter. The plan for today was only to reach Jangtomok Shelter, which is approximately 13km away. However, we thought, if we‘d reach the Jangtomok Shelter as early as Yeonhacheon, we should then hike to Cheonwangbong Peak.
Well… why not! That means: starting from Yeonhacheon Shelter → Byeoksoreong Shelter → Seseok Shelter → Jangtomeok Shelter – ~13km, then from Jangtomok Shelter → Cheonwangbong Spitze → Jangtomok Shelter – ~3,5km on the same day.
Our 2nd hiking day on Jirisan – full with Sunshine and Highlights
We woke up at 6 am in the dawn after a long rest. It was still cold. We prepared our “Gourmet breakfast” with rice and porridge, made some coffee, filled the water balloon and thermos, then hit the road with the first sunshine.
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A Multiple-day Hike on Jirisan 1 – [Gyeongsang][Jeolla]
지리산 – Jirisan National Park is designated as the first and the largest National Park of South Korea. Located in the south, it spreads across three provinces – South-Gyeongsang (Gyeongsangnam-do), North-Jeolla (Jeollabuk-do) and South-Jeolla (Jeollanam-do). Many Korean and international visitors come to Jirisan to enjoy its wonderful sceneries, walk on the stunning hikes through a lot of valleys and mountains, as well as to reach the highest peak in Korea mainland – the Cheonwangbong (1915m).
I was there on Jirisan with my friends from Germany – Kerstin and Sven. After spending 3-day-2-night there, we‘ve not only seen the beautiful landscape of Korea, but also experienced the friendliness and warm hearts of the Korean people. What an unforgettable hiking tour!
Our plan for Jirisan
Kerstin and Sven came from Germany to Korea for the first time to visit me. We were climbing mates back then in Germany and all love mountains. That’s why, my first thought of what to do with them was: Let’s plan a cool hike!
But where to? Jirisan, Seokraksan, Bukhansan? All supposed to be wonderful. But the highest one is on Jirisan! Go for it!
For the preparation, we‘ve found a lot of useful information online, such as on the blog of Juno Kim (2017) or Elicia und Thomas (2014). The blog entries described everything in detailed with amazing photos. Reading and looking at the pictures we just wanted to be there immediately!
Based on the information we found we decided to hike for 3 days and 2 nights on the „Jirisan Ridge Hike“, which is also named as “Jongju (Traversing) Course“ on the Korea National Park Homepage.
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