Pages

Saturday, February 9, 2013

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.

sangamburi jeju
The road up Sangamburi

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

sangamburi
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.

sangamburi crater jeju
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 hallasan
Sangamburi Crater overlooking Mt. Halla
halla san
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

mt.halla
The start of the trail

jeju mountain

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!

jeju trek
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.

jeju hike
Looks like I was just edited :| LOL

jeju autumn
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.

jeju travel
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. :'(



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

2 comments:

  1. Sure is! :) Ok lang yan Manong Unyol, explore muna around the country before going abroad :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. How did you get that taxi for a day? How much is it and is it worth it if I will just go to Mt Halla using the taxi? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete