Our Route
It was a beautiful weekend so we decided to act Korean and go hiking! After some research about the closest mountain hike, we were on our way to Yudalsan! Yudalsan is the highest mountain here in Mokpo, standing at 228m. It is located in Old Mokpo near the Ferry terminal. The hike was suppose to be an easy 40 minute hike to the top of the mountain, or so I was told (as in read on a blog). I guess this person did not actually go to the top of the mountain and all the way around because our hike was more like... 4 hours!
A big bell
Admiral Yi Sunsin
At the base of the hike you will find the statue of Admiral Yi Sunsin. This is the landmark where admiral Yi is said to have fooled and scared away the Japanese troops by stacking straw thatches over the rocks, making their small army seem like a much larger one. After the statue, we followed the path up the mountain. There were a lot of stairs and the path was well paved.
We made it to our first pagoda and took a much needed break from the hot sun. There is a pitstop at the beginning of the trail where you can buy drinks and snacks for your hike and bathrooms. I highly recommend getting at least one bottle of water since this is the only stop for the duration of the hike! At the first pagoda, we noticed that the inside ceilings were decorated with beautiful paintings. The colors were vibrant and gorgeous so don't forget to take a look inside as well as enjoy the panoramic views of Mokpo.
Forty minutes passed by and we made it to the top of the mountain! Wasn't that bad right?! Just kidding.... it was the observation point... So how do we get to the peak??? After looking at the map again, we figured that we had to go down and around this peak to get to the highest one. Off we go! Up more stairs!!! The trail definitely started to get more advanced as we went higher up.
After what felt like forever... maybe about thirty minutes lol... we finally made it!! Obviously this plaque helped reassured us that we were at the very top of the mountain. Take a break and enjoy the view! I was surprised at the amount of people.. or should I say lack there of at the very top, maybe they stopped at the other point?
Beautiful view!
Now lets find our way back! So we had two options: go back the way we came, or keep following the path to the other side. Well Alan decided that we should do the whole trail since we were here and obviously that was the more logical option..I guess. Legs tired, no more water, sweating like crazy, we kept going. This was the longest part of the hike. There was just endless stairs up and down different hills and at some points the trail was some what nonexistent.
I was starting to get a little worried, but then we came to a pagoda with lots of people taking a rest and a woman was selling some drink out of a big cooler. We pushed further checking our map continuously. After abour 2 hours, we finally made it to the other side, Fishermen's Park! It was a cute little park with a man made stream. That was a good workout!
We found this little guy chilling on a rock midway. Super cute!
Tips and Recommendations:
How to get to Yudalsan
Hop in a cab and say "Yudalsan" :) They will drop you off right at the base before the statue.
* Wear your hiking gear! Shoes, comfortable clothes, and sun protection (you can still get sun when it's cloudy!)
* Bring your camera.
* Bring water and stay hydrated!
* Start early morning/late afternoon to avoid the hottest parts of the day.
* Plan your hike accordingly, you do not want to caught hiking at night if you aren't prepared. That said, there was a good deal of the trail that had lights at night.
Posted with Blogsy
