Baegunsan (Gwangyang) hike info

Baegunsan is the 1,222 m peak Gwangyang people simply call their mountain. Seen from the bay, cloud often sits on the top, which is how it is said to have got its name (white cloud mountain). On a clear day from the summit, Sangbong, the Seomjin River glints silver to the north with the long Jirisan ridge lying beyond.

A mountain this size has many valleys. Donggok is the longest, running more than ten kilometres down from Hanjae pass, and below the slopes the camellia grove at Okryongsa-ji blooms red in late winter. In early spring, villages hang sap buckets on the gorosoe maples, and when snow settles the summit area turns into a field of rime.

There are plenty of ways up. The Nonsil and Jintul approaches reach the top in about two hours, while the Seongbulsa route is a six-hour ridge walk over Hyeongjebong, Dosolbong and Ttaribong. The eastern ridge toward Eokbulbong is rockier and has the better views.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Busan, Gwangju and elsewhere (BUS)

To the trailhead (LOC)