Sitting at Mint, and then at Genius Loci, I kept staring at Seongsan Ilchulbong until I wanted to go see it for myself. It isn’t far, and the place we were having lunch was nearby, so we jumped straight in the car.
The Seongsan Ilchulbong parking lot
It’s a tourist spot, so of course it was packed. They say the round trip takes about an hour, but there are a lot of stairs and it was harder on the legs than I expected. Age catches up with you.
The view on the way up
Hallasan off in the distance.
The view inside
You can’t actually go in, so it moves you a little less than it might. When I visited Mount Aso I got to walk right up to the crater. It was impressive enough, but the view isn’t as grand as it is from down below, so once I’d had a look I headed straight back down.
A shot taken on the way down
The houses look like matchboxes.
A shot taken on the way down 2
The hills back there look wonderful.
A shot taken on the way down 3
The descent takes a slightly different route. There’s a Haenyeo’s House down inside the grounds.
A shot taken on the way down 4
It looks better from below than from the top, but either way it’s a place you can’t not climb at least once. Next time I come, though, I have a feeling I’ll only stop at the restaurants nearby.