“Great hike, Great views, Great experience with our guide from World Heritage Network”
My partner and I hit Hallasan around 6:45 in the morning on a Saturday
to avoid the crowds. Our guide drove us to the Gwaneumsa parking lot. As this
was not a loop trail, we wanted to take the steeper/harder route in and have
gentler descent (easier on our knees) back to our car. Turns out, doing it this
way we avoided what felt like hundreds of people ascending when we were heading
back later in the day. According to our guide, people are allowed to camp at the Gwaneumsa section of
the park and I saw a few people starting their day as we marched to the
trailhead. We were under tree cover and walked along a dry river bed for the
first couple of miles. At this time of day, we only ran into seven other hikers
on this trail. After you cross the river via bridge, the hike starts to get a
little steeper. About two hours in, you hit a large, modern shelter and
toilets. Good time to take a break and snack. Or keep carrying-on as you will
get a chance to sit, eat and gaze at another resting place. After the shelter,
you will cross a much larger, newer suspension bridge. Fresh water available
here. The climb will get a bit harder for next half quarter mile. Continue past
the foundation of the destroyed shelter. After you ascend the 18-22 inch tall
stone steps, you will reach a ridge which is the other good stop. No shelters
(in fall you should opt for the shelter), but a nice wooden platform from which
to gaze at how far you've come. Crows will land in search of scraps. At this
point you are very near the top, only a couple more hundred feet to go. The crater was dry when we visited, but still a wondrous site. The seasoned,
local hikers brought burners and ramen and were happily chowing down near the
crater. Darn! That would have been nice. The t-shirt, fleece jacket and
windbreaker I was wearing barely sustained me, so the hot ramen sounded
freakin' great. The hike down Seongpanak was not nearly as enjoyable since we were bombarded by
the late starters heading up. At one point, the hikers coming up were in a jam
– seriously, no one could move, there were so many people. There’s a large
shelter a third of the way down. As another reviewer noted, be sure to wear supportive shoes with rigid shanks
as you're constantly stepping on uneven rock. I had on trail runners, which was
fine going in, but heading down, my feet were pretty battered. The boardwalk
was a nice breather when we could get it. Overall, it was a very enjoyable trek and I like to thank our guide,
Kim, who was always patient and caring and
especially World Heritage Network who arranged and organised such a wonderful
trekking tour for us.
...commented by Steve Lee Anderson, Sydney, Australia
This was the second time we had been to Mount Hallasan at Jeju Island and it was the most amazing times of our lives. We engaged a local guide from World Heritage Network and took up the trekking tour starting from Yengsil Trail. In the beginning, it was just steps with trees and river beside you until later when you started to ascend, you will see beautiful scenery of the nearby mountains. The trek is not difficult and much thanks to our guide, Kim, who guided us so well not to mention having fun listening to his jokes and local customs and history. We descended at Eorimok Trial after resting at the shelter for lunch at the top. As we trekked down, we realised that it was quite steep with a lot of steps down and we were glad that we took the right trail up and right trail down according to the advice given to us from this network. I like to thank Rorne for his patience and dedication in arranging this wonderful trekking tour in Mount Hallasan for us. Well done guys and thanks a million! Definitely we will be back to trek other and more difficult trails in the future.
...commented by Steven Tai, Malaysia
