Hiking Inwangsan in Spring

Inwangsan (인왕산) is a rocky hill in the central part of Seoul, which together with Namsan and Bugaksan surrounds Gyeongbokgung palace. This hill is open 24h a day (but is closed on Mondays). You will find many guard points on the mountain, the only thing the guards wanted from me is not to take any specific pictures of the Blue House (but I think I would need a way more expensive lens to do any harm).

How to get there

This hiking area is directly accessible via subway. I went there a couple of times during this stay in Korea, from Gyeongbokgung station (Line3) and via the Dongnimmun station (Line3, exit2). I personally found Dongnimmum station the better option of the two, as it allows you to pass Ingwansa temple (인왕사), for which you can find signs if you walk straight from the subway exit.

The way up is relatively easy and short, and goes along an old castle wall. It is only 338m high, but because of his granite peak (and no trees in the way), it offers great views on central Seoul.

Spring scenery

I love the mish mash of houses and streets in Seoul

Panoramic view

 From the top, I went down the other way, from which I could take a bus back to Gyeongbokgung.

Way down via the other side

After I really enjoyed the panoramic view during the day-time, I decided to go up at night as well. The view is just mesmerizing, as you can see on my picture below. The guards at the start of the trail were very friendly and asked my information and how long I intended to stay on the mountain, just in case I would have a little accident on the stairs.

Night panorama, the dark rectangular area on the left if Gyeongbokgung Palace

Hiking in Dobongsan Mountain

Dobongsan (도봉산) is a mountain in the more northern part of the Bukhaksan national park. The highest point is Jaunbong (자운봉) which peaks at 739.5m.

How to get there

This hiking area is directly accessible via subway: Dobongsan station (line 1). When you exit the station, just follow the street with all the hiking shops. It is about 15 minutes walking to the Dobong information center.

My hike

After leaving the station, make sure to grab some freshly baked Korean (sweet) pancakes and kimbab (tasty rice roll in seaweed) for your hike. For this hike, I chose the easiest way up to Jaunbong, which starts at the Dobong information center and then goes via the Dobong shelter and Madangbawi rock to the top. At the information center there was a friendly ranger which started talking to me and was making sure I had enough water and food with me (which I always do).


On the way to the top, there is a small temple complex (Cheonsuksa), which offers some nice views on the granite peaks laying behind.

Jaunbong rising up from behind the Cheonsuksa temple

Iron Buddha's lined up at Cheonsuksa temple

Iron Buddha's lined up at Cheonsuksa temple

Fish to ring the bell

The way up is relatively easy, it gets a bit more steep after you pass the Madangbawi rock.

Rocky steps from Madangbawi rock to Jaunbong

 

To climb the actual peak, it gets pretty steep, but with there are cables and metal grips to help you.With dry weather and decent shoes it is doable, I would not go up if it is rainy as the granite tends to get really slippy.

Scrambling to the top

View from Jaunbong

To avoid seeing the same things twice, I decided to go back down via Uiam rock. This was a good decision, as it involves walking on a ridge (Dobongjuneung), which is always a nice thing to do, and also some pretty good views on the different peaks of Dobongsan.

View on Jaunbong on the way to Uiam rock

Me on the Dobongjuneung Ridge

Uiam Rock

When arriving back at the information center, a guy walked enthusiastically towards me. It turned out to be the ranger who helped me earlier that day. I did not recognize him as he was not in his uniform, he just finished his shift and was going home. Great to feel how happy he was that foreigners also come hiking on his  mountain.

My actual hiking route (which I did counter-clockwise)