The cool breeze in Autumn makes people want to go for hiking. Let us introduce one of the popular hiking courses in Seoul - Inwangsan Mountain, which is an easy hike even for beginners.
The Inwangsan Mountain Trail introduced in this post is the 4km walking course recommended in the Seoul City Wall website, which starts from Site of Donuimun Gate, passing through Inwangsan Mountain, and ends at Changuimun Gate. It will take approximately 2 hours and 30 mins to complete the whole walking course. It is not too difficult, so it is suitable even for beginners. However, please take note that it might not be suitable for children as there are many rocks at the Inwangsan Mountain area.
There are many signboards that will guide you to the peak of Inwangsan Mountain, so it is not difficult to follow the walking course. Starting from the Site of Donuimun Gate, keep walking and you will pass by Gyeonggyojang House, Woram Neighborhood Park and finally, Hong Nanpa's House. This section will take about 15mins walk.
Walking in the city while enjoying the hanok-like buildings, blue Autumn sky and green plants makes people feel refreshed and relaxed. Since it is located in the city center, you will see many people who comes here for walking or hiking during the weekend.
When you arrive at Woram Neighborhood Park, you can find traces of the Seoul City Wall. The city wall around this park was built recently.
Before reaching the Sajik Park and the entrance of Inwangsan Mountain, you will see the Hong Napa's House building covered with green plants. The composer of well-known songs, Spring in My Hometown, Nanpa Hong Young Hu, used to live in this house.
The well preserved western-style house from the 1930s is worth for you to stop by and take some pictures of the unique building. The next attraction is Dilkusha (Tailor’s House) which reopened in November 2020 after the restoration work.
Just continue walking, and you will see the signboard of the entrance of Inwangsan Mountain. If you walk along the inner section of Seoul City Wall, you can enjoy your walk with the beautiful scenery of cosmos and tall buildings in the city. If you walk along the outer part of Seoul City Wall, you can enjoy ivy and city wall view.
In this post, we will follow the inner section of Seoul City Wall.
As you walk up the trail, you can feel that Autumn is here when you see the colorful cosmos flowers. Don't forget to take pictures in front of the field of flowers.
Before hiking up to Inwangsan Mountain peak, you can walk up the well-kept path with the city wall on the left. The part of the course is not difficult, so it is suitable for children to walk up to this section.
As you walk up step by step, you can see the view of the magnificent rocky mountain. In a short time, you will be able to reach the top of Inwangsan Mountain. There are several rest areas so you may bring some snacks or fruits to eat it while taking a rest.
The view becomes more spectacular as you climb up. When you feel tired and having a hard time walking up, just turn around and enjoy the view.
500m to the top of Inwangsan Mountain!
Lastly, you need to follow the steep rocky path to climb up to the top of Inwangsan Mountain. Since it is a rocky mountain, it is different from the usual hiking trails. You need to step on rocks, and hold on to the rope as you climb up. However, this section is quite short, so if you are a beginner in hiking, you just have to walk slowly and carefully.
Note: Please wear proper hiking shoes that are not slippery.
There are 2 must-visit photo zones at the top of Inwangsan Mountain. First, the signboard that shows "Inwangsan Mountain Peak 338.2m" (photo above). Second, at the big tall rock that is located in the middle.
The view from the top of Inwangsan Mountain not only show the clear view of Seoul City, but you can also see Namsan Tower and Lotte World Tower that are located far away. If you come here in Autumn, the cool breeze cools down your sweat very quickly.
You can climb down the mountain from the same way you came, but if you go down the opposite side from the mountain peak, you can visit the Yoon Dong-ju Literature Museum and Changuimun Gate which is the last attraction of the Inwangsan Mountain Trail of Seoul City Wall.
The path going down is easier than climbing up. You will be able to come down quickly.
This course end at Changuimun Gate, which is just across the street. It took about two and a half hours for a slow walk, take pictures and go up freely. It is easily accessible by public transportation and the hiking course is not difficult, so we recommend you to check out this hiking course in Seoul if you come to Korea in Autumn.
[Information about Inwangsan Mountain]
1. Getting there : At AREX Gongdeok Station, Transfer to Subway Line 5 ▶ Get off at Seodaemun Station, Exit 4, walk 3 mins
2. Address : San 2-1, Muak-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
3. Website : http://seoulcitywall.seoul.go.kr/
*Please wear a mask and practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Wash hands frequently and practice cough etiquette. Stay safe!
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