The Great Korean Road Trip – Day 19 – Jeju Hallasan National Park

This is my third trip to Jeju. My first trip was in 2011 and I visited again in 2013. In all three trips, Jeju Island has had 2 main highlights: The wonderful beaches, and Hallasan National Park.

Mount Halla is the tallest peak in South Korea and is the centerpiece of Jeju Island. It can be seen from anywhere in the island and climbing to the top was one of the coolest things I did in Korea (back in 2011). However, my knees weren’t what they used to be and to be honest, getting to the top of stuff isn’t really on my to do list anymore. Today, Sid and I just wanted the most beautiful scenery on a rather moderate slope.

Thinking back when we climbed and descended Halla in back to back days through 4 different trails, I remembered that Seongpanak Trail was the most picturesque and least steep. We arrived kind of late, but were not disappointed. Only a few kilometers into the forest, we ran into a wild deer that was about three years old. We got within about 2 meters and took some video.

We didn’t really make it very far before turning around. Closer to the entrance, we ran into a younger deer, about a year old. This one was even more fearless than the last and didn’t seem to mind our company.

Halla proved once again to be worthy of its UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

 

Julio Moreno
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