Sangamburi Crater and Hallasan, Jeju - Day 12 in South Korea

Jeju has been amazing so far. The untouched nature that surrounds the island was just impeccable and the people here were very friendly and helpful. The visit to Seongeup Folk Village has definitely thought me more about Jeju's beginnings and culture. It was past noon but we still wanted to explore and learn more. I have told our driver to go to Sangamburi Crater and Mt. Halla for remaining time of our tour.

Sangumburi (산굼부리) is a crater in Jeju designated as a Natural Monument. The name is derived from "Gumburi" that means volcanic crater in the local dialect, and "san" for mountain. The flat crater's flat circumference is 2km and is about 650 meters wide and 100 meters deep. There is a plethora of unique plant-life in the crater such as magnolia trees, rare winter strawberries, Ondaerim vegetation and other more interesting kind of species of plants as well that has continued to attract different researchers.

As usual, we got discounts for the entrance fee priced 6,000 won. The path going up to Sangamburi was breathtakingly beautiful during autumn! The flamegrass swaying with the light breeze gives that wonderful ambiance of the place.

The road up Sangamburi

Pic at the Eulalia flowers that appear during autumn around Sangamburi crater, I look like I need lots of sleep!!!

Sangamburi

Once we have reached the top, you'd find it hard to notice that you're actually stepping on the crater itself. The whole place looked like a huge sunken botanical garden full of different kinds of trees and plants.

Me at the crater. Haggardness lang!!!

Living in a big city, especially a very polluted one like Manila, I absolutely enjoyed my time here at Sangumburi crater. The experience of enjoying the abundance of fresh and clean air is one of those precious moments during my stay here in Jeju.

Sangamburi Crater overlooking Mt. Halla

The winding road to Halla San

After Sangumburi, we headed to Hallasan to at least see more autumn foliage (yes, we haven't had enough yet!) and experience more of what the island has to offer for us. We took the Seongpanak route as this was the "national park" and easiest course as explained by our driver.

Map and more information about Hallasan

The start of the trail

Halla San is one of the three main mountains of South Korea, with Seoraksan being included on the list. Located at Jeju, Mt. Halla is fanous for its vast ecosystem of plants and almost 4,000 species of animals. The entrance here is free for all and the hike is site to be easier as compared with other mountains in Korea.

They even put up emergency contact numbers around, how nifty!

Seongpanak's trail

Map of Seongpanak

Upon arriving, we expected to see a national park for the mountain similar to what we have seen at Seoraksan. However the route that we were taken to is said to be 9.6 kilometers from the base! Also, there were no parks and it seems that the all the trees have lost the "autumn vibe" already and felt like it's almost winter so we concluded to go back to the starting point after 30 minutes of hiking.

Looks like I was just edited :| LOL

What's left...

It was still something to say that we are able to go to Hallasan, but unfortunately not reaching its peak with our very limited time. Maybe someday, with proper hiking outfit (and hiking boots!), I'll be able to conquer this mountain, but for now, I'm off to see more of Jeju. We took some photos around but the colors were not that great anymore as lots of leaves have already fallen from the trees.

Bye Hallasan, for now!

After our lunch of black pig's meat, we said our farewell to our taxi driver for the day, who has been very helpful and full of humor during the tour. We still have two places to visit but I feel like I'm missing Jeju already. :'(

Follow my footsteps in South Korea!

Day 1: Gangwon-do Chuncheon and Nami Island	Day 2: Gangwon-do Mt.Seorak (Seoraksan)	Day 3: Gyeonggi-do Yongin and Food Tour	Day 4: Gyeonggi-do Suwon: Hwaseong Fortress, Korean Folk Village	Day 5: Gyeonggi-do Everland	Day 6: Gyeongju Food Tour	Day 7: Gyeongju Seokguram Grotto Bulguksa Temple Cheomseongdae and Anapji Pond
Day 8: Busan Railway Train in Korea	Day 9: Busan Igidae Coast Busan Fireworks Festival	Day 10: Busan Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Flying with Jeju Air	Day 11: Jeju (E) Food Tour- Altang Dragon Rock Jusangjeolli Cliff Teddy Bear Museum The Seaes Resort	Day 12: Jeju (W) Sunrise Peak Seopjikoji Trick Art Folk Village Sangamburi Crater, Mt.Halla Manjanggul Cave, Maze Park Jjimjilbang	Day 13: Seoul Flying with T'way Airlines Couchsurfing in Korea	Day 14: Seoul Palaces and Bukchon Village
Day 15&16: Seoul Myeongdong and Ewha University N Seoul Tower	Booking Flights via T'way Airlines	Travel Report for South Korea 16 days travel itinerary and tips