Baekdeoksan hike info

Baekdeoksan rises where Pyeongchang, Yeongwol and Hoengseong counties meet, at 1,350 m. It is not a famous rock mountain. It is a long, deep-forest one where you walk a while and suddenly find yourself on the ridge. From the top the ranges of Gariwangsan, Chiaksan and the Sobaek mountains stack up in pale layers, and on a clear morning cloud fills the valleys below.

Two temples sit on its skirts. To the southwest in Yeongwol is Beopheungsa, a shrine said to hold relics of the Buddha, and on a southern valley stands Heungwonsa. Names here carry old stories. Nearby Sajasan was once Sajaesan, the mountain of buried treasure; the name changed with the tale of the monk Jajang riding a lion to bring the relics.

The routes are easy to sort: the long ridge walk from Munjae Tunnel via Sajasan, the shorter out-and-back from Meokgol in Unggyo-ri, and the valley route from Heungwonsa past Chotdae Rock. Signposts are sparse in places, so keep a map app open.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Busan, Daegu and elsewhere (BUS)

To the trailhead (LOC)