SORAEKSAN NATIONAL PARK
Admittedly, the least that I would do when on a vacation abroad is to hike mountains. But if the mountain is snow-covered and of
littered forest snow, it would be an exception.
In South Korea, there is a mountain named Seorak, which literally translates “seol” (snow) and “ak”
(big mountain). From that name, I was
enticed to go up the mountains and witness the panoramic mountain range.
Was it worth the
travel? Yes.
The Seorak
Mountain district was designated as a Natural Monument preservation area. Afterwards, it was designated as a park
preservation area, and in August 1982, as a Biosphere Preservation District by
UNESCO.
Our entry point is
Seoul. How we get there?
1. Take the Metro train to Gangbyeon station in Seoul which is on
Line 2 – the green line
2. Exit at No. 4 at Gangbyeon station
3. Walk across the road into the bus terminal (Dong-Seoul) and buy
a bus ticket to Sokcho. There are over
40 departures daily to Sokcho between 6am and 11pm. Travel time including stopovers is 3 hours
4. Get off the bus at its final destination, the Sokcho Intercity
Bus Terminal.
5. Walk out of the Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal and turn
right. About 50-100m down the road is a
local bus stop (on the same side of the road as the bus terminal). Wait here and flag down bus 7 or 7-1 when it
arrives.
6. The bus fare is 1,100 won and should be paid in exact
amount. You will see a plastic box as
you enter the bus and place your fare in there.
Travel time is approximately 40 minutes to the national park.
7. Bus 7 and 7-1 plies the route from Sokcho to Seoraksan National
Park all day, back and forth.
We only had a day
trip so every minute counts to make the most of the travel to the Seoraksan
National Park.
Reach
the Summit through a cable car
The South Korean
government listed the Seoraksan National Park as a tentative UNESCO World
Heritage site. It is popular with
hikers, tourists and nature enthusiasts, being home to many rare taxa of flora
and fauna.
But for us, who
are time-constrained, the best way to see Seoraksan Mountain is by taking the
Seorak cable car. On board the cable
car, we were able to view the rock formations of the Gwongeumseong region as
well as the Sogongwon area, Jeohangnyeong and Ulsanbawi Rock to the north.
The cable car
actually ascends at a relatively high speed.
After getting off the cable car, we had a 20-minute hike to
Gwongeumseong for a breathtaking landscape.
We stayed for hours and before the sun sets, we found our way back to
the pick-up point of the bus at the foot of the mountain.
Note that there
are no one-way ticket through the cable car.
There is no trail on descent. The
hikers have a different trail, so it is better to decide in advance, if you
want hiking or just a relaxing view of the mountains.
And of course, you
know which course we decided.
1 comments
May cable car naman pala! haha
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