Daeyasan hike info

Daeyasan sits on the Baekdu-daegan spine where Mungyeong (Gyeongbuk) meets Goesan (Chungbuk). At 931 m it is modest, but the scenery changes three or four times on the way up. The Yongchu valley below runs over smooth granite slabs, and under the top fall there is a heart-shaped pool carved into the rock. Legend says two dragons rose to the sky from here, hence the name Yongchu.

The trail follows the valley gently for a long time and changes character at Miljae pass. Turtle Rock, Elephant Rock and a mushroom-capped boulder come one after another, and the last 100 m or so to the top is a rope-and-hands scramble over bare rock. At the summit the view opens on all sides: the Songnisan ridge to the south and Huiyangsan to the north.

In summer more people come for the valley pools than for the hike; in autumn the Daraegol and Piagol sections turn colour. A valley called Seonyudong lies on each side of the mountain, one in Goesan and one in Mungyeong, and both are said to be where immortals played.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Busan, Daegu and elsewhere (BUS)

To the trailhead (LOC)