Wolchulsan (월출산)

The massive, red suspension bridge spanned a deep chasm between two rocky spires. A little mist underneath made it truly a cloud bridge. As I walked across, I could see the forest far below through the pale haze. Ahead and far above was the main rocky ridge and steep summit of Wolchulsan. Only about an hour into this day of adventures, and I’d already labelled Wolchulsan National Park (월출산국립공원) a favorite.

Wolchulsan  was just so exciting from start to finish! My husband and I began at dawn, and were surprised to find ourselves very quickly climbing stairs above the forest. There was no lengthy lead-in trail – the climb began suddenly and steeply. And, gloriously, being perched on stairs allowed us views over the forest already, before it was even light outside.

In fact, it had been spectacular even in the dark. This park was a two bus hop from our home, plus a crazy taxi ride away from the light of the wee village and into the darkness. Our destination was a remote motel we’d found on a map, crossing our fingers that we’d find it unshuttered and still open. As we arrived, the moon was rising. Its bright, ivory glow illuminated the dramatic silhouette of a prominent mountain rising up above the farms of the southern plains. I stood staring at the sight, transfixed, until our host began hollering incomprehensible words at us, beckoning us to come inside and out of the cold. Yes, they were open, and our adventure had already begun!

After some exhilarating stair-climbing the following morning, we reached the rocky ridge of the mountain.  We found the peak, and didn’t mind a bit that it was crowded. Who could blame the other folks for enjoying such a mountain? We lingered, even, enjoying a snack and taking in the views of what had come before and what was still to come. Their foliage already lost, the bare branches of trees revealed the geography of the mountain: the real shape of its rocks – one of my favorite things about hiking during this time of year.

Moving along slowly, savoring it all, we explored several rocks and caves suggestive of the human anatomy. We climbed up and down the jagged ridgeline, walking the length of it. Not wanting it to be over, we took a right turn that led us away from the main ridge and slightly downward. Signs pointed us towards the ruins of a temple. There were gnarled, old trees that seemed like ancient, stoic characters guarding more amazing views.

We reached a stone pagoda standing at the edge of a rocky ridge. I admired it, taking it in with my eyes and fingertips, before slowly turning around to see what it could have seen. I remember gasping in awe, completely surprised by what I saw behind me. Carved into the rock face, right below the ridge we’d just walked, was a huge Buddha. He was gazing at me then, as I gazed at him. I remembered reading something about stone carvings at this temple site, but my feeling of awed discovery was complete. Words found me again, and I directed my husband’s gaze, then footsteps, toward this discovery!

Under the warm gaze of the Buddha, there was another pagoda and several plaques describing the temple that once stood there. I walked around the site silently; absorbing, thinking about and appreciating the mountain’s subtle and striking beauty. I knew then that later on I would consider these moments to be what made our trip to this park so special.

Back on the ridge, we hiked, mainly downhill, across a field of long grass. We descended into stark autumn forest once again at the end of the ridge. Down, down, down until we reached a temple and the park rangers’ office. Refreshingly but somewhat inconveniently, there was not a shop or restaurant in sight at this park entrance. It meant a peaceful finale to our day – and the second national park of our mission, but no memento map. We ended up walking on the road out of the park in search of transportation. As the sun sped its approach toward the horizon, we found a rural bus stop. We wound up on a small, local bus heading the opposite direction of our home – and had an extended adventure!

Know and Go! Wolchulsan

Transportation

This is one of the more remote parks on the peninsula. It’s located in the far south-western corner of Korea, and is relatively far from any major metros. The easiest way for visitors from Seoul would undoubtedly be by taking a high-speed train or express bus to Mokpo, transferring to a local bus to get to the park. Buses going to or from Yeongam, the nearest town, take about 50 minutes. You can get off the local bus near the park, a few stops before Yeongam town. This is the way we exited the park. However, going there, we used a daisy chain of express and local buses to reach Yeongam from Suncheon. This allowed us to start our hike from the eastern side (see Hike & Run below). If you choose to do things this way, you can use Gwangju as a transit hub to get a bus bound for Yeongam. Direct buses from Gwangju are frequent and take about an hour and 15 minutes. From Yeongam, you can either take (another) local bus or hire a taxi.

Hike & Run

Starting from the eastern side of the park allows you to choose between taking in a beautiful waterfall (Baram Pokpo) or the famous red cloud bridge (Geuramdari) early in your hike. Not only is this an incredibly exciting way of starting your day, getting there at first light means you beat the tourist bus hordes. For a short trip, you could hike to the summit via the bridge and descend via the waterfall, or vice versa. The park has a ridgeline extending several kilometers, if you want to take it all in. There is also an alternate entry/exit point on the south side of the mountain in Gyeongpodae. In other words, hikers have a host of options. I personally really enjoyed the cloud bridge and the steep, scenic climb up the eastern side of the mountain. If you have time to hike the ridge, definitely check out the Yeongam temple site with its stone pagodas and big Buddha!

Stay & Eat

We stayed at Sinra Motel very close to the eastern entrance in Gaesan-ri.  It was one of the few motels we found in the area, the others being clustered further away from the park in sleepy Yeongam town. The eastern entrance has the usual array of shops and restaurants, while the western entrance is very quiet by comparison. So if you’re looking to get your mountain vegetable fix, it might be advisable to hike a loop or end at the eastern side.

Other Notes

My husband and I did a 13.5 km hike in Wolchulsan National Park in November 2015. This was the 2nd national park we visited during our mountain mission year. We started at Cheonhwangsa Temple and finished at Dogapsa Temple. We chose the cloud bridge way up, and took the short side trip off the ridge to Yeongam temple site. While we didn’t visit Baram Falls or the Gyeongpodae branch of the trail this time, we’d love to go back!

The main peak of Wolchulsan is Cheonwangbong at 809 meters. It is a rocky peak with excellent views in all directions. It’s one of Korea’s famous summits, noted here on the Black Yak list and here on the Korea Forest Service list.

As I usually do, I did research beforehand about what hiking options I would have using the Korea National Park Service website. Also, this park was a bit tricky to get to, so I spent some time checking out different ways of accessing the park using google and naver maps.

Come hike other national parks or explore the amazing 120 summits!