Bukhansan Mountain, Seoul

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Bukhansan (북한산) is a National Park on the northern edge of Seoul with miles of hiking trails, dozens of temples, several impressive peaks, and the Bukhansanseong (Bukhan Mountain Fortress) which was constructed in 132 AD. The two largest peaks in Bukhansan Park are Baegundae at 835 meters and Dobongsan, which is over 700 meters. The park was established in 1983.

I visited Bukhansan twice while living in Seoul. Once I entered the park from the west and just did some hiking and looking at temples. The second visit, I entered from the east and hiked straight to the top of Dobongsan...it was an awesome hike that took just about 3 hours round trip.

Entry to the park is just 1,600 Won for adults.

To get to Bukhansan & Bukhansanseong, take Subway Line 3 to Gupabal Station, then city bus 156 to Bukhansanseong. To get to Dobongsan, take Line 1 or 7 to Dobongsan Station.

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Bukhansanseong was first built by King Kaeru during the Baekje era in 132 AD, but was rebuilt in 1711 by King Sukjong to defend Seoul's northern approaches from the Chinese invaders. The walls average 7 meters tall and follow along the steep ridge lines of the park, taking advantage of the natural terrain features for defense. The circumference of this huge fortress is about 9 km, and it has several impressive gates and watchtowers along its length.

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Hiking is definetly a favorite Korean passtime, and it's something that everyone should endulge in at least once while in Korea. The East coast mountains are much larger and more beautiful, but you can easily hike one of the many mountains right in Seoul. It is a day long activity and you'll probably pass out early that night, but it's really not THAT hard if you're in reasonable shape. You'll have to pay a small fee when entereing the park and just follow the crowds from the subway.

You can see whole Seoul and great view
of Mountain in a modern city.
It's very unique and nice to experience.

tip 1:
go there during
the sun set time , it is very nice.

tip 2: visit Bun- Sik- Jip during the sun set , you can enjoy of the view sitting comfortable and eating cheap but good quality food.

tip3: everytime it's nice to visit.
Don't worry if you miss the sunset.
Sometimes you can not see sunset
even if you visit there during the time
because of bad climate..

Thanks to the helpful hints of fellow virtual tourist members, I found Bukhansan National Park just when the leaves were changing color. Based on their advice, I climbed it and had a memorable time.
While Bukhansan has challenging trails (you need to grab onto cables to hoist yourself up some of the steeper parts) and great views of Seoul, it is not a place to get away from crowds. Not at all! I have never climbed a mountain with so many people! And they are all wearing the latest climbing fashions. But seeing all of these people and talking with some is part of the fun. And it's great to see so many people enjoying the outdoors.
There are several peaks in the park, but by far the best climb is up to Baekundae, at 837 meters.

Hiking in Pukansan National Park
From the center of Seoul you can see these great hills. It a great place to get out of the craziness that is Seoul. And it's so close. The people you'll met on the track are truely the nicest people of Seoul. People will practice their english on you, give you great advice about the trails, and try and share their Kimchi Sandwiches with you. And on top of that you get a really great view of the city!