Gariwangsan hike info

Gariwangsan gets its height from forest rather than rock. There are no jagged peaks up to the 1,561 m summit, just oak, Korean pine and maple, with old yew trees along the ridge. It straddles Jeongseon and Pyeongchang, and from the top the ridges toward Balwangsan, Hambaeksan and Odaesan stack up one behind the other. Its old name was Galwangsan, tied to a story of a king who hid here to escape a rebellion.

The trails are long rather than steep. The Janggumogi side starts at the neck where two valleys meet and crosses a mossy stream; the Eoeun-gol side by the recreation forest follows running water. In autumn the colour comes down from the summit toward the valleys, and in summer the valleys cool first. Because the trailheads sit low, the summit takes longer than the height suggests.

For the 2018 Winter Olympics an alpine ski course was cut into the eastern slope. The gondola there is running again, so even people who skip the hike can look down over the old Olympic run and the forest around it.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Busan, Daegu and elsewhere (BUS)

To the trailhead (CAR)