Real Life Flintstones
The best way to describe the landscape of Seoraksan National Park is to compare it to the Flintstones cartoon. Multiple large stones and boulders are scattered throughout the park, smoothed over the years by the wind. This makes them look almost fake in an otherwise lusciously green landscape.
Ulsanbawi Rockis particularly striking, and probably one of the most commonly visited sites in the park. We were impressed by the various ages of hikers completing this 880 stair climb to the top.
Once reaching the top of the seemingly never-ending stairs, you ascend to a mountainous ridge with sweeping views stretching from inland all the way out to the ocean.
Dinosaur Ridge
At its tallest, Seoraksan Mountain reaches its highest point at 1708 m (Daecheongbong Peak). There are a number of routes that can take you there, and we decided to combine a couple of routes that appeared the most scenic. These routes happened to be advanced, and there were definitely times where we questioned our decision. Mostly as the sun was setting on our 10th hour of hiking and our legs felt like jelly. But, the views made it so very worth it.
The first half of the climb was through a valley, following a mountainous river with many waterfalls along the course.
The second half was a ridge hike along “Dinosaur Ridge“, a challenging trek taking us through various terrain which included scrambles and steep climbs requiring ropes.
But, no matter how much we were huffing and puffing, the views from the top of the ridge were unforgettable:
When all was said and done we had hiked for over 10 hours, almost 30km, 1800m of vertical, and it cost me one pair of shoes. But I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Burger Rewards
While you could fill numerous days hiking throughout the park, there are also a number of other sites in Seoraksan. The park is home to two Buddhist temples, including one large statue of Buddha.
There are also many leisurely walks following the river, across charming bridges, taking you to numerous waterfalls within the park.
And of course, as we’ve noticed is tradition at Korean visitor sites, there is a large outdoor shopping area at the entrance of the park with numerous restaurants and cafes to refuel after a day of activity. We may or may not have had a Bulgogi burger to reward ourselves after a long hike…
SHOP OUR GEAR
An amazing view from the top of mountain. This is something thrilling we don’t see in our daily life. Thanks for giving me a perfect place idea to explore.
Thanks for your comment Aman. Glad we could expose you to this destination!
Amazing scenery
I know! We knew it was going to nice, but it exceeded our expectations. We wished we had more time in the park.
Oh, my gosh! You are so fortunate to see such amazing sites around the world! Love you lots! XO
Hi Aunty Isabelle,
Thank you for your comments! We are very thankful that we are able to travel and see things around the world, not everyone is so lucky. Hope everything is going well!
shane.