Hiking Seoraksan National Park

The Sanwooro hiking club of Siemens invited for a one day trip to the Seoraksan National Park. I accepted and on Friday, the 26th of September we started in a bus to the west coast of Korea. I was the only expat within a group of 13 hikers. After a three hours' drive we arrived at a leisure pension nearby our hiking startig point at about 500 meter above sea level. A dinner was prepared at the pension, lots of meat, rice, tofu soup, various vegetables and Soju. All the vegetables were from fields growing around the pension and home prepared. Some of the food ingredients take a long time to become proper food, up to eight years. I liked especially the variety of chilies, fresh ones, dried ones and fresh green chili leaves. The hot and tasty dinner was long and with a lot of Soju even loud, the night became quite short. 

Breakfast early in the morning at another house, nearby the pension. Here all food home-made too and delicious likewise. After breakfast the bus brought us to Jangsudae Ranger Station, our entry to the huge Seoraksan National Park. From here we followed the path to Daeseungnyeang, than over the Eungbang Falls to the Namcyori Park Ranger Station. A six hours walk, three hours on mostly steep wooden stairs up to a high point of 1370 meter, than three hours down on mostly gently sloping, but pebbly paths. Wonderful sceneries and best weather for such a hike made my first approach to Korean countryside to a great experience.

our leisure pension

pickled food ingredients

chili field

various vegetables

breakfast lodge

sun comes out

our starting point

hiking colleagues, I was the only expat

two of the 'Twelve Fairy Bathing Springs' in the Sibiseonnyeotang Valley

the most famous 'Bathing Spring'

beneath the road on the way home