Large & lovely loop: All around Baekdamsa (백담사)

I swallowed hard, tears rising inexplicably in my eyes. My back pressed against the rear wall of the temple. Figures in front of me bowed low on simple mats laid over the wooden floor. A monk was chanting, his gaze fixed on the picture window. We were all facing one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen: silky white clouds swirled around a jagged ridge. The rugged spires towered above colorful temple buildings built at the top of a deep, brilliantly green valley. It was more than just pretty: there was something mystical or spiritual about it. Something about Bongjeongam, one of the highest temples in Korea and a hermitage of Baekdamsa (백담사), had me transfixed.

A misty photograph of the rugged ridge above Bongjeongam. The deep green of summer foliage fills the bottom third of the frame, although a careful eye will notice the steeply angled black roof of a temple building far in the center. Five prominent, jagged peaks rise up steeply from the forest into the misty sky.
First glimpse: Bongjeongam

It was a beautiful day to be out for a run, and even better to be up on a high ridge in in Seoraksan National Park (설악산국립공원). We began our run along our favorite route, moving quickly where we could and slowly over the tricky bits. Clouds formed and rose up out of the forested valleys, cut by the jagged peaks above.  We’d stop to stand still on the rocky outcrops: taking in a privileged, eagle’s eye view of the whole of the park from the Namgyori ridge.

A panoramic image taken from a high point along the Namgyori ridge. A sloping ridge to the left is deep in shadow, colored a dark emerald. In the center, a forested ridge pierced with sharp grey rocks runs down towards the snaking highway, far below. To the right, the foliage appears bright and vivid. The peak of Jeombongsan, the closed mountain in the south of the park, rises up above the road in the very center of the image. The sky dominates the upper half of the image: patches of periwinkle blue between grey and white clouds.
Sweeping Seoraksan vistas
An portrait of the author's husband on a set of national park stairs. He's half turned around, smiling at the camera. The stairs are very steep, lined with rubber matting and sided by rope railings. These stairs run through the middle of the frame before abruptly turning right and disappearing into the forest. Steep grey cliffs are to the left, and bright green leaves top many trees to the right.
Kent, descent
A vertical image of a signpost atop Gwittaegicheongbong. This summit is not marked by a stele, but rather by this signpost. In addition to arrows pointing the way north and south, this signpost bears a plaque with this peak's name. There's a moss-covered boulder to the lower left of the picture, and a sea of green ridges below a pale blue sky in the distance.
The secret summit of Gwittaegicheongbong

Seven hours of running (and climbing and descending and looking) later, we stood on our favorite peak once more! A cloud enveloped us completely as we stood and embraced the summit stele. The stiff breeze and humidity made it cool, almost cold, at height! We lingered because we love it there, but only for a little while. Our day’s adventure had only just begun!

A zoomed out image of the rocky summit of Daecheongbong. Rocky boulders in various shades of grey are tumbled around the bottom third of the frame. The summit stele, also a grey rock, rises above the rest: its bright red lettering the only color in the image. This is a very rare image indeed: hikers almost never have the summit to themselves, and usually have to queue for photos!
Tranquility at the top
A selfie featuring the author's husband, with the author herself in the background, tracing the letters of the summit stele. Kent smiles and squints into the camera, while Carrie looks down the the summit stele. Kent is carrying two orange-topped Gatorade bottles in his running vest, and the author wears similarly-hued running shoes! The sky and background are indistinct in a thick grey mist.
And just one selfie!

After retracing our steps on the long Namgyori ridge and greeting the peak, we were ready for the next section, and exploration. At the summit, instead of going straight down, we turned left and left again to make a huge, horse-shoe shaped loop ending at Baekdamsa temple.

As soon as we started to descend, we were in brand new territory again! A staircase guided us down a plunging drop and took us to the most beautiful little hermitage I’ve ever seen.

We stopped at Bongjeongam, completely forgetting our mission. It felt a little bit like we’d fallen through time. As we watched, clouds swooped in and got tangled up on the peach-hued stone spires. The haunting chants of the monks mingled with sweet notes of birdsong. Slowly taking in each building, shrine and rock formation, a peace settled over us. More than an hour passed as we quietly contemplated this special scene. Maybe it sounds strange, but I felt like the energy of Seoraksan was flowing out of the mountain and into me at this spot. I cried over the view and feeling in the main hall, finding myself moved beyond words.

In this image, taken at Bongjeongam, the roof of a temple building is in focus. The black tiles slope downwards from the top, ending with round or spade-shaped engravings. Below the tiles are the wooden beams supporting the roof, painted in tthe traditional shades of red, green and yellow. There is a tiger on both the wood and tile corner in the center of the frame. The other tiles and beams end in lotus flowers.
Tiger and lotus motifs on a traditional temple roof

I was so absorbed by all of the sensory details that I only remembered to take a few photos, none of them able to truly capture the scene. We explored the area around the temple a lot. A short walk from the hermitage away stood an ancient 5-story pagoda, and an observation platform overlooking still more gorgeous views down the rugged valley. Up on the rocky ridge behind it, we even discovered yet another new route to explore: a thin trail leading over a cliff towards another hermitage. Noted!

An image of the footpath leading between the hermitage and the 5-story stone pagoda nearby. The bare rock wall of the characteristic cliffs here rises up on the left. To the right, little lanterns are set at intervals along the path, dwarfed by towering trees.
A path for meditation at Bongjeongam
A photograph of a signpost pointing the way towards Osaeam. This temple, previously unknown to the author, would be the subject of a future adventure in the park! The sign is on the far left of the photo, and the rest of the frame is filled with a tile natural rock formation in front of a lush, green forest.
And, another interesting path…

Eventually, we remembered our quest. We bid Bongjeongam a goodbye and began to descend. We soon found ourselves plunging into the heart of a canyon. There were steps down between narrow rock walls so steep that none of the lush jungle below could grow on them. Crystal-clear, shining rivers gushed down waterfalls and gurgled around huge sand-colored boulders. Old metal bridges carried us back and forth across the valley, above these streams.

In this photograph taken just after leaving Bongjeongam, the eye is drawn down through the center of the frame into a deep and lush valley. Extremely steep rocks rise up to either side of the frame, and a staircase is visible, beginning its descent between them at the bottom of the image.
Perched above Baekdam valley!
A photograph of one of the long metal bridges over the river in Baekdam valley. This path runs from the bottom left corner of the image towards the center of the frame. The stream is visible just below the bridge, then lost down the steep valley. The right side of the frame is dominated by forest greenery in the foreground, and steep grey cliffs in the background.

The Baekdamsa trail was in some ways similar to Yongpok valley on the other side of the park, only steeper and far more remote. Many of the people we met were pilgrims, climbing quietly and mindfully upwards, outfitted in traditional clothes. It was like the hikers here were purposefully more subdued, letting the splendor of nature take center stage.

Thanks to the excellent infrastructure, we were able to run all the way down to the temple. Or we would have, if the valley hadn’t been so nonstop stunning. We’d sprint down steps, pause on observation platforms to gawk at the view, and run on.

A vertical image of a beautiful waterfall plunging down steep rocks into a deep and clear pool. The waterfall is not a single, straight drop, but instead a meandering waterway that has carved a winding way through the rocks over the centuries. Emerald green forest creeps in over the rocks to either side. The pool at the bottom of the frame is so clear that large rocks are visible at the bottom!

At the bottom, finding the main temple under construction, we opted to keep running. A 6 kilometer road linked the temple to the village below. Most people take the shuttle to and from the temple, so we were the only pedestrians on this winding forest road. Like the trail above, the road followed a stream, meandering down between tall pine trees and around massive boulders.

We realized we were on track to run a marathon if our watch’s battery held up, and that, along with the even downhill, spurred us into maintaining our speediest pace of the day. Shortly after passing the 42k mark, Garmin powered down – and so did we. Our cool-down involved walking a few hundred meters downhill, right into a mountain vegetable restaurant! We had gotten our wish: a wonderful mountain marathon day, covering old ground and new!

A photograph of hundreds upon hundreds of stacked rock towers along the dry edge of a stream. Each tower is only stacked a few rocks high, with larger rocks at the bottom and smaller stones near the top. But each tower varies in its height, shape and color composition. An incredible scene under the forested green slopes of Seoraksan National Park!
Towers of wishes at Baekdamsa

*The route described above makes a loop consisting of two segments: an ascent and traverse of the long Namgyori ridge and a descent down the Baekdamsa route described below.*

Know and Go! Baekdamsa 백담사 route

It’s important to note that this route is long. We used it to descend, and it’s around 13 kilometers from the top to the temple. Following the turnoff to Bongjeongam, there’s a brief steep section. But the final half of this trail, especially after Yeongsiam, is mainly flat.

A portrait of the signboard at Socheongbong peak. Three signs point north and downwards: indicating 11.7 kilometers to Baekdamsa, 1.1 kilometers to Bongjeongam and 0.4 kilometers to Socheong shelter. Two signs point west and up, towards Daecheongbong (1.2km away) and Juncheong shelter (0.6km away).
In lieu of a map, a sign!

There are two shelters and two hermitages directly along the way. You can get water or take refuge from the elements in all of these places, but note that three of these are clustered just below the peak with only a kilometer or so separating them. (There are two minor forks off the main trail, at Yeongiam and Bongjeongam hermitages that link a roughly parallel trail passing by a third hermitage – you can read about that trail here! But stick to the main trail for the best valley views from nicely constructed staircases). Stock up on supplies so you can enjoy the journey!

Coming down from the summit, this is a great place to end your day. You can explore the temple, which is famously scenic, and the little village near the main entrance has many shops, cafes and restaurants where you can satiate your hunger and replenish lost fluids. There is also fairly regular bus service heading both east and west, where you can transfer onward to a bus home.

It is also possible to do this route in reverse. You can get to Baekdamsa temple by bus from East Seoul, or by changing buses in Wontong or Sokcho. The climb to the peak from here is longer than other routes, but only steep in the final section. The scenery in this valley just can’t be beat, so plan on making lots of photo stops as well! Whichever direction you’re trekking, you can enjoy a massive canyon, my favorite hermitage in all of Korea and many other beautiful sights.

In this vertical image, a lone pine tree rises above the rest of the forest. Mist swirls in the background, obscuring the tops of the rocks jutting out of the forest here and there. This tree has needles growing on its lower and upper branches only: there is a bare and brown middle section making this tree unique.

If you are interested in the incredible hermitage described in the opening paragraphs, check out this website for a few more photos and a description of its history. Otherwise, head back to the Seoraksan main page to check out other great hikes in this great national park!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your adventure around beautiful Baekdamsa, Bongjeongam and beyond!

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