I'm no hiker so it may seem strange that this blog and the last are about mountains we've ascended, however, it's that time of year in Korea so please understand and read on... It's the middle of November and we haven't had a day of rain since August so it's very dry whilst being cool so it's the perfect time to explore the national parks. A fortnight ago, we saw Jirisan because of the beautiful autumnal colours but the foliage had already fallen so we opted for the dramatic rock formations of Seoraksan.
Seoraksan is the tallest peak in the Taebaek mountain range and it's very conveniently reached via a twenty minute bus ride from a nearby city called Sokcho as well as having a number of attractions on the way up the mountain. This was our plan.
On Friday night, we caught a train from Hongseong to Seoul then used the metro to get to the major bus station and took a coach to Sokcho. Arriving at 1am on Saturday morning, we were lucky to find a wealth of cheap motels right by the bus station so we quickly paid our ₩30.000 (£16.50) for the double room and feel straight asleep. Bright and early the next day, we wrapped up warmly and caught a local bus to the entrance of the park. To start with we opted for the easy route (i.e. the cable car!) up one of the steeper mountains and absorbed the views. without breaking sweat - Spectacular!
Feeling more adventurous, we came back down the cable car and started our hike. Almost immediately, we past the Sinheungsa buddha which is a giant bronze buddha at the foot of the mountain. We kept going and a few hours of steady uphill walking we came to Heundeulbawi. Bawi means rock and this particular one got it's name due to it's precarious nature. The rock is massive but perched on the edge of another larger flat rock so that men (only) feel the need to try and push it over.
Once we had this out of the way, we peeked inside the cave temple before starting the assent. It was so tough! After you've managed the rocky uphill steps you're faced with 808 metal stairs attached to the rock face. At times dangerously steep and at others unnervingly narrow, the fear factor can leave you breathless without counting the strenuousness of the task.
I'm not going to lie, there were a number of times when I desperately wanted to give up but we made it to the apex with only minor injuries (a friend pulled his quad and I banged my knees in a death defying slip).
The view was great and I'm so proud of us all!
