Mountain Parks Blooming: Places to See in Jeollabuk-do (Part Two)

Our road trip started with South Korea’s south coast and the province of Jeollanam-do, but we ended by driving back up to Seoul through the western province of Jeollabuk-do. This area offers a rural and small-town feel, very different from Seoul and distinct from the coastal towns and villages we visited earlier on this trip. Here, we explored the foodie city of Jeonju, hiked the rugged peaks of Naejangsan National Park, and trekked through the towering stone pagodas and blooming cherry tunnels of Maisan Provincial Park.

In part one of this post, we visited historic Jeonju Hanok Village. In this post, visit nearby Naejangsan National Park and Maisan Provincial Park.

Naejangsan National Park

Only an hour’s drive away, Naejangsan National Park is a very reasonable day trip from Jeonju. Although the park is most popular in the fall when its copious maple trees burst into color, we found a quiet spring day there to be very enjoyable. The drive to the park was lovely, with cherry trees blooming in the valley.

Our plan was to complete as much as we could handle of the Ridge Hiking Course, an 11-km loop covering all 8 peaks of the park. As with all best-laid plans, we had to modify this one as the first peak was closed due to a rock slide. We also stopped for lots of photos (surprise!) and had to take an earlier trail down so we wouldn’t be on the mountain too close to dark. In the end, we hiked Bulchulbong (622m), Manghaebong (679m), Yeonjibong (670m), and Kkachibong (717m) peaks.

As it often the case with Korean hiking trails, our loop took us past several Buddhist sacred sites, including Byeoknyeonam and Bulchulamji Hermitage sites near the beginning of the hike and Naejangsa (temple) at the end.

The Ridge Hiking Course is rated as moderately difficult, and even though we didn’t complete the whole loop it was easy to understand why. Because of the rock slide at the first peak, we climbed straight to the second peak. And the trail was very steep, a combination of both wooden and rocky stairs.

Of course, with a steep trail come great heights and spectacular views of Naejangsan’s peaks and endless valleys, which we greatly enjoyed from the top.

The good news is that once you’re up, climbing across the ridge from peak to peak is far less steep. However, there are multiple points where you have to climb metal staircases bolted to the rocks or use ropes and railings to safely navigate the ridge. If you like rocky scrambles you’re in for a treat. If not, get ready for some moments out of your comfort zone. I will say I’m a pretty scaredy-cat climber, and there wasn’t anything on this trail I couldn’t handle (by taking a few deep breaths and occasionally muttering a few choice words).

It’s always fun to hike peaks along a ridge, though, because instead of just one big pay-off view, you get multiple opportunities!

Even the trail down from Kkachibong Peak had some great views down the valley, although it was extremely steep and required some concentration to navigate.

Back on flat ground, we appreciated Naejangsan’s peaceful valley. As this is a park popular for autumn visits, we had the trail and seemingly the whole park mostly to ourselves all day. Perfect!

Maisan Provincial Park

Maisan Provincial Park (마이산도립공원) in Jinan-gun, Jeollabuk-do had long been on our list of “must-do” hikes. Known as “Horse Ears Mountain” because it’s said that its distinctive peaks look like a horse’s ears, the park has two main trailheads, one at the northern and one at the southern end of the park. As it’s less than an hour’s drive from Jeonju, this was the perfect opportunity to make a road-trip stop.

We hiked from the south to prioritize two sites: Tapsa (Temple) (탑사) and the three kilometer-long cherry blossom tunnel that normally serves as the site of the Jinan Cherry Blossom Festival. Although the festival was cancelled this year because of the pandemic, the path from the southern trail parking lot to Tapsa is comprised mainly of the cherry blossom tunnel.

The main trail from the southern (Nambu) parking lot winds through a bustling food street before passing the small Geumdangsa (Temple) (금당사) and Tabyeongje Reservoir.

As the cherry blossom tunnel ends just beyond the reservoir, the path approaches Tapsa, known for its 80+ stone pagodas. The mysterious towers of stacked stone were built by lay Buddhist hermit Lee Gapyong in the late 1800s. No one is exactly sure how the pagodas have withstood the natural elements to remain standing today.

Continuing up from Tapsa, the trail continues through another temple, Eunsusa (은수사), whose claim to fame is a 14th century visit by King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon dynasty. It’s also home to a 650-year-old pear tree (Cheongsilbae), thought to be the only one of its species in Korea and according to legend planted by King Taejo.

After leaving Eunsusa, it’s time to climb up, up, up between the two “horse ear” peaks.

One peak is referred to as male (Sunmaibong), and the other as female (Ammaibong). Only the female peak has climbing access, which begins at an observation point at the clearing between the two peaks. Another climb of 30-45 minutes up sets of both wooden and rocky stairs take you to the top of Ammaibong (687m), with many views of Sunmaibong along the way.

After reaching Ammaibong peak, we took a trail heading west through the park, taking us across rocky ridges and over Biryongdae Peak, with its distinctive pagoda that can be seen from miles away. From here, we could look back down towards the reservoir and the cherry tree tunnel, as well as looking back towards the “horse ear” peaks.

The final push on our loop was to reach Gogumdang Naong-am, a 14th century Buddhist cave shrine. See the yellow roof on the left side of the photo below? That’s where we headed before climbing back down towards the reservoir.

The actual cave shrine was tiny, and somehow we didn’t get any photos of it. One caretaker happened to be at the site at the time and seemed to enjoy greeting us. Given the steep climb up and down to the shrine, it must get lonely on top of that hill sometimes!

From Gogumdang Naong-am we took a last trail down the mountain and completed the loop to return to the food street at the cherry tunnel. At Choga Jeongdam restaurant, we enjoyed delicious Korean-style pork ribs (galbi) and bibimbap made with mountain vegetables.

Though quieter and more rural, Jeollabuk-do provided excellent opportunities for exploration. The hikes, the food, and the history made the area worth a visit. If you can go when the cherry trees are blooming, it’s a bonus!

You can see more photos of Naejangsan National Park and Maisan Provincial Park by visiting our Flickr page.

If you missed visiting Jeonju in part one of this post, you can find it here. Happy trails!