There is no admission fee for us Jeju residents, but they do charge you for parking which ranges from 1,000 to 3,000 won, depending on the size of your vehicle. We picked up a brochure and began walking.
First stop on the trail was a small pond, marked as the "Ecology Pond". There isn't very much to see around it, other than a few frogs and some colourful water lilies. Still, it's better than nothing.
Right near the pond there is a road leading up to a few cabins and even a forest pension, that has rooms available ranging from 16,000 to 98,000 won. A little steep if you ask me, but they also have other camping areas for rent.
Matt and I decided to start our forest trek with the Eco-tourism trail, which sounded pretty interesting, but turned out to be pretty much a wood through the woods with a few trees labeled.
A few interesting giant dogwood trees and a thick canopy made for the best sights.
Upon exiting the Eco-tourism trail, which is about a eight minute walk, you'll come across the acupressure trail. If you've been to many outdoor Jeju tourist spots, then you'll recognize the stony path designed for giving your foot a massage. I've tried before, but it never seems to work out or even feel good for me.
There is about a 50 m stretch that leads back towards the entrance of the forest, so we decided to go the opposite way. We came across another path that seemed to be a shortcut towards the Bubjungak Oreum Observatory, so we went that way.
There is an area that is built around a river, supposedly designed to be a "paddling area" or probably a makeshift swimming spot for those visiting the site. There wasn't enough water for anything like that, but this was before the rainy season had taken effect.
After crossing the river, we followed another path down to the camp sites to take a look.
There were lots of camping decks available, which are only 4,000 won per night. Another alternate option is to just sleep in the camping site grounds, which run around 2,000 won. With a padded mat or sleeping bag, the decks sounds like the best option.
We wandered back up the trail and tried to figure out our best route to get to the oreum; on our way along one path through the woods Matt spotted a deer. This is the second time we've been up near Halla and have at least one.
We got a great view of it this time too:
Once the deer ran off, Matt and I continued our walk, which was beginning to get very humid. I took a few pictures of some of the nearby foliage, but Matt's camera isn't the most co-operative device.
About another 15 minute walk and we reached the summit of Bubjungak, an oreum 760 metres above sea level. Finally we stopped for our traditional road-snack: chammers or 참치 김밥 (chamchi kimbap), a kind of tuna filled rice roll of deliciousness.
With a couple of plums, some yogurt and a Dr. You bar, we had a pretty healthy road snack going for us. It was a pleasant walk through the woods and hike up the mountain, but not someplace I'd probably come back to...unless it was in the fall or winter.
The view of Hallasan and the trees below from the summit was definitely the best thing it had going for it.
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