Jirisan - Nogodan, Hwaomsa and Yongguksa

Jiri Panorama

/Jirisan National park is the largest in Korea and is home to dozens of temples and the highest mountains in mainland Korea. It is also the oldest protected park in Korea and is home to a wide range of plants and animals. My friend Andrea was visiting from Japan and we chose Jirisan as a good place for her to see the natural part of Korea. The route we took passed by Hwaomsa temple on the way up to the Nogodan summit. At Nogodan we stayed at a shelter. The next day we hiked along the Jiri mountain spine then down a river valley to Yongguksa temple. We were lucky to visit these temples during Buddha's Birthday.

Hwaomsa temple.

Kings and knights of Hwaomsa

Meditation bell.

The largest stone lantern in Korea... hard to tell but its over 15ft.

Laterns for Buddha.

Relics of the temple.

On the Jirisan spine near Nogodan summit there was an access road leading up to the shelter. Unfortunately there were no pictures taken on the 5hr hike up to this point. The trail was really steep, poorly marked and very tiring.

.... mountain scenery.

Sunset at Nogodan Shelter.

Inside the Nogodan cook house.

Day 2 - Signs pointing to Nogodan summit.

The peak was shrouded in this ominous mist.

On the trail to Nogodan Summit.

At Nogodan Summit - 1750m

On our way down a different river valley to Yongguksa Temple.

A shelter for lunch.

Filling up our nalgenes from a mountain spring.

Dirt McDirt.

Pictures from the hike down.

A mushroom farm.

Civilazation at last.... only 8hrs later.

The gates to Yongguksa.

Yongguksa.

This picture marks perhaps the most interesting part of our hike. We were walking down the stairs on our way out when I decided to turn around and take one last picture. I noticed the monk walking towards me so I asked him if it was alright if I could take his picture. He nodded yes. After the picture, he struck a conversation with me, albeit in Korean, but we managed to talk for a few minutes. He asked me where we were spending the night. I told him we were planning to head back to Guryeo to stay at a motel. He then asked us if we'd like to have dinner at the temple with the monks then spend the night. We of course said yes. They opened up one of the rooms in the temple complex and we threw our stuff inside then headed to the dining area for dinner. That night the monks were having a feast for Buddhas birthday. We ate and slept very well. The next morning the monks woke us up for breakfest and let us on our way, but not before giving us some food and drinks for the road. It was a truly amazing experience. We thanked them profusely.

Lanterns at night.

On the road back to the bus terminal.