Gyeryongsan (계룡산)

Golden shafts of sunlight finally reached over the rocky ridge, illuminating a clearing in the forest. Two ancient stone pagodas stood side by side in front of us. We circled them slowly, pilgrim-style, warming ourselves in the first rays of the sun. It was a chilly early December morning in Gyeryongsan National Park (계룡산국립공원).

An image of two non-identical stone pagodas, standing side by side in the morning sunlight. Behind them the roof of a temple is visible, and through the brown, leafless forest, you can make out the shape of the ridge. — Brother and sister pagodas in Gyeryongsan National Park

We continued climbing upwards through the still, stark forest of barren branches. With little foliage to block the view, our first peak of the day was visible ahead, and up a long metal staircase. It was painted a warm orange by the morning sun. Arriving at this peak, Sambulbong (775m), we were delighted by the views that spread out in front of us! The mountain ridge was long and jagged: sharp rock formations topped by twisted, still-green pine trees.

An image of the author and her husband standing on either side of the Sambulbong summit stele. The summit is rocky. On the left of the stele, there is a photo illustrating what peaks are visible from this point. To the right there is a steel railing and steps going down. — Sambulbong peak in Gyeryongsan National Park

An image depicting the undulating ridge of Gyeryongsan mountain. There are multiple peaks along the ridge. To the left, the sun illuminates a forest of deciduous trees that have shed their leaves. To the right of the ridge, the forest is in deep shadow. The only color in the photograph is the bright green of pine trees that dot the ridge. — The dramatic ridge of Gyeryongsan

We celebrated Sambulbong’s summit, then ventured forth on the line between sun and shadow. It was an exciting ridge, with panoramic views the whole way! Sometimes we walked on the rock formations themselves, with steep drop-offs to either side. Sometimes we climbed stairs or skirted cliffs, holding onto metal railings. We kept stopping and turning in circles to take in the views in every direction.

An image of the Gyeryongsan ridge from another angle. There are some pine trees in the sunlight in the foreground. Many peaks rise above the ridge. The spine of the mountain extends into the distance before finally disappearing in haze. — Another view of Gyeryongsan’s exciting ridge

An image of a peak rising out of the forest above the ridge. There are some green pine trees dotted around the jagged rock face. A set of stairs and a handrail winds up the peak to the left. — Steps up to one of the peaks along the ridge

Above the bare rocks and naked trees, the pines along the ridge were dramatic splashes of color in the monochromatic palette of the day. Up close, the pines appeared bent and shaped by the wind into fanciful figures.

An image of a pine tree set against a backdrop of sunlit rocks. The tree has a long, thin, winding trunk. Three-quarters of the way to the top, the trunk splits into two branches, and those divide again into two smaller branches. Pine needles are only growing from the very tips of these small branches. It's an amazing natural shape! — Wind-sculpted pine

With little foliage in which to hide, we were lucky to see several of the park’s animal inhabitants (and evidence of many others!) We had a close encounter with a lovely woodpecker, and spotted the tracks and scat of some medium-sized mammals! We also could see down to several little hermitages we wanted to visit.

An image of a woodpecker standing on the trunk of a tree. It's feathers are black with a white stripe pattern, and it has a patch of burgundy below its eye. Its belly is a pale grey with light stripes. This woodpecker is perched on a brown tree trunk that is partially covered in a soft green moss. — A woodpecker breaks the silence of the forest

Before we knew it, we’d arrived at the highest peak on the ridge! For a few blissful minutes, we had Gwaneumbong summit (766m) to ourselves. We admired the stele and views of the dramatic ridge that we’d just come from. The sun was higher in the sky, so we sat on the summit rocks and basked like lizards.

A close-up image of the author sitting with and admiring the summit stele. The vertically-oriented Korean characters spell out Gwaneumbong in large text, and Gyeryongsan in smaller text. — Gwaneumbong – the main peak of Gyeryongsan National Park

And then it was time to descend and complete our loop through Gyeryongsan National Park. The morning had passed quickly on the jagged ridge of this pretty park. We walked downhill beside streams still splashing down into pools edged by frozen leaves. Afterwards, we spent some time exploring Donghaksa Temple at the foot of the mountain before we bid this park goodbye.

This image shows the brightly painted buildings of the temple Donghaksa at the foot of Gyeryongsan mountain. Several buildings are visible. Their tiled roofs are black, and underneath the wooden beams and walls are brightly painted. — Donghaksa Temple in Gyeryongsan National Park

Know and Go! Gyeryongsan

Transportation

Gyeryongsan National Park is an easy park to access! It’s only about 50 minutes east of Daejeon. Daejeon is a major metropolis that’s well-connected by rail and road to other Korean cities. You can then take a city bus from Daejeon Station to Donghaksa, the main temple in the park.

Hike & Run

Gyeryongsan National Park covers a vast area. The network of trails is centered on the main rocky spine of the mountain, and there are numerous offshoot trails leading to temples. There are also several alternative entrance/exit points besides Donghaksa. There’s also a completely separate hiking area at Sutonggol, in the south-east corner of the park. So there are lots of options for loops of various sizes or point-to-point hikes. The central ridge is a must-visit for it’s incredible vistas, and it’s always nice to tag the main peak.

Unfortunately, I only took terribly blurry, pre-dawn photos of the park’s trail network. However, I found this map on awesome, fellow mountain mission blog Klimbing Korean Mountains! I followed almost the same route.

Stay & Eat

Thanks to its proximity to Daejeon, finding food and accommodation are super easy for your visit to Gyeryongsan National Park. There are mountain vegetable restaurants and options for sleeping (including a campground) at the main entrance near Donghaksa, but if you’re arriving late or have other preferences, you can stay and eat in the city.

Other notes

My husband and I visited Gyeryongsan National Park in December 2015. This was the 5th national park we visited during our mountain mission year. We did a 13.6 km hike: a loop from Donghaksa to Gwaneumbong and back. Daejeon was our home base for this outing.

Gwaneumbong is the main peak of the park at 766m. It’s listed in many places online as 816m, but the stele at this peak reads 766m. I don’t know the reason for this discrepancy. It could be that one of the inaccessible peaks is higher. Additionally, Sambulbong is higher (775m) and commands an equally great view. The trail connecting these peaks is almost entirely on the exposed ridge, with accordingly great views.

I used the Korea National Park Service website to research Gyeryongsan National Park. You can also find information about this famous peak on the Black Yak Challenge and the 100 notable summits list published by Korea Forest Service.

You might also enjoy reading about other national parks and Korea’s 120 summits!