Hallasan
South Korea'S Highest Peak (1,947 M); Hallasan National Park; Part Of The UNESCO World Heritage Site Jeju Volcanic Island And Lava Tubes (2007) · Jeju, Jeju
The broad shield volcano that forms the whole of Jeju Island, rising to 1,947 metres at its summit, the highest point in South Korea. Its long gentle slopes climb from the coast through farmland, forest of oak, maple and Korean fir and belts of bamboo grass to a summit crater holding Baengnokdam, the white deer lake, a shallow crater lake that fills after rain and shrinks in dry spells. Around the mountain stand hundreds of small parasitic cones, the oreum, and on the upper slopes grow alpine plants found almost nowhere else in Korea, among them the royal azalea fields that turn pink in late spring. The mountain is protected as Hallasan National Park and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, inscribed in 2007. Two trails reach the summit, Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa, and both need an advance online reservation with a daily cap and strict cut-off times at checkpoints on the way up; other trails such as Eorimok and Yeongsil climb to the high Witse-oreum plateau without the summit. Weather changes fast, so hikers start at dawn.
Seongpanak Trail, 1865 516-ro, Jocheon-eup, Jeju, Jeju, 63344, South Korea
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the trails open at about 5 to 6 am in summer and 6 am or later in winter, and hikers are stopped at checkpoints - Jindallaebat shelter on Seongpanak and Samgakbong shelter on Gwaneumsa - after a cut-off of around midday, earlier in winter, with the summit to be left by early afternoon. The plateau trails also have cut-off times at their lower entrances. The park is open all year, but trails close in typhoons, heavy rain, heavy snow and fire risk. Traps: no reservation; a late start that misses the cut-off; no crampons in winter; a trail closed for weather; the last bus gone at the far end of a traverse.