Duryunsan Provincial Park (두륜산도립공원) is a hidden gem of rugged ridges and Buddhist history! It was our second mountain of the day, and we were thrilled to be exploring it. It was an afternoon of surprises and stunning scenery!
It was raining lightly when we began at Daeheungsa temple. After finding the mountain path, we wound upwards through cool, verdant forest. Emerging into a clearing, we came upon what instantly became one of my favorite hermitages! Lovely old wooden buildings looked like they were carved right out of the forest. The place had a rustic look. One building in particular beckoned me: two latticework doors set in a wall, one tied open. Peeking inside revealed a huge stone Buddha carving!
I lingered a little, in quiet contemplation. As I stood still, the rain stopped – but the clouds hung low and moody overhead. Continuing, we suddenly burst out into the open. We were on a serious spine, and wild winds whipped across the jagged rocks. Our trail now had some fun options: new wooden staircases parallel to some metal handholds up a slippery scramble! It was pretty gnarly.
Setting off on the gnarly route, we quickly reached the first of several delightful summits! I love it multiple rocky peaks in close proximity – it makes me feel like I’m in a painting! The heavy clouds only enhanced the ambiance.
We were blissfully alone as we stood exposed on the rock tops, feeling the full elemental force of this blustery afternoon. There was time to hang and haul ourselves up the metal handholds, laughing from the thrill of it. We bounded up and down stairs to find viewpoints and flowers. On Noseungbong and Garyunbong, we lingered, embracing the harsh weather and rugged rocks.
Finally, on Duryunbong, we found the crowds we’d been anticipating. After all, Duryunsan is a beautiful mountain and it was a Saturday! A large hiking group was picnicking on this peak. After a quick visit, we decided we’d better make our way down and wrap up our day of great adventures.
We’d saved our exploration of Daeheungsa temple for the end of the day. After descending from the wicked winds above, the temple seemed all the more serene in its tranquil forest setting. Alas, we couldn’t enter: access was restricted to monks.
What a perfect day! Duryunsan Provincial Park jumped right up my personal mountain list and lodged itself firmly in my faves.
Know and Go! Duryunsan
Transportation
A gem of a park, Duryunsan Provincial Park is located in the far southwest of the Korean peninsula. The mountain is deep in Jeollanam-do on a rugged little headland below the town of Haenam. This little promontory is next to the one that hosts Cheongwansan, another spectacular provincial park!
To get here from Seoul or Gyeonggi-do, take a KTX train heading southwest to Mokpo. From there, hop on an intercity bus bound for Haenam. Alternatively, from Seoul, Gwangju or Busan (and likely other places as well), you can catch a direct bus to Haenam. From Haenam, local buses run to the park frequently, or you can take a taxi to suit your schedule.
Duryunsan might be remote, but it’s incredibly pretty. I loved my time at this provincial park, and I’m sure you will too! Consider heading off on a longer adventure and checking out more mountains in the area on your trip!
Hike & Run
There are actually four significant peaks to visit in this pretty park! Coming from the temple, which seems the best place to start and end a hike, you can can easily make a loop that visits three of these.
The fourth peak is off to the west (left on the map) and might be accessible via cable car. I don’t know if it’s connected to the rest of the trail network. Either way, this peak was closed when we visited the park.
However, the main attraction seems to be the ridge over Noseongbong, Garyunbong and Duryunbong. We immensely enjoyed our visits to all three of these! In addition to the peaks, I’d highly recommend a visit to Bukmireukam – the hermitage below Noseungbong – for a glimpse of the beautiful stone Buddha.
Stay & Eat
Coming as we were from Cheongwansan Provincial Park, we didn’t have much extra time to explore the eating and sleeping options in the area. Haenam seemed to be a big town, with plenty of restaurants, supermarkets and motels. Haenam is a logical base of operations for a trip into the area: close enough to the park for easy access, but with all necessary creature comforts.
Closer to the park, there are several cafes and mountain vegetable restaurants – but we didn’t indulge on this particular trip.
Other Notes
Kent and I visited this stunner of a park on a very exciting two-park running adventure in June 2016! This was our 5th provincial park adventure during our mountain mission year. We hiked a 13 kilometer loop, starting and ending at Daeheungsa temple.
Duryunsan Provincial Park has three main peaks: Garyunbong is the highest at 703 meters, 631 meter Duryunbong is the namesake of the mountain, and some of the most spectacular scenery looking east can be had from 685 meter Noseongbong. Visit them all and be glad you did!
Duryunsan is deservedly famous. Find it on both lists of famous South Korean summits: the Black Yak info is here, and there’s a description by the Korea Forest Service here.
But prior to my visit, I had no idea what wonders this park had in store! I couldn’t find much information about it in advance – just this Visit Korea summary here.
Join us on our same-day Cheongwansan Provincial Park adventure! Next, explore more provincial parks or other 120 summits!