Gubyeongsan hike info

Gubyeongsan sits across from Songnisan's Cheonwangbong, and its name means roughly 'nine folding screens', which suits the string of rock peaks along its ridge. Hiking club write-ups say old-timers called Cheonwangbong the husband mountain and Gubyeongsan the wife. Because Songnisan hogs the fame, this side stays quiet, and on a weekday you can walk the ridge without meeting anyone.

The trail mixes rock and fixed ropes. Past the old temple site and the spring you reach the main ridge, where a sign announces the 'Chungbuk Alps', then you cross the 853 m bump, drop to a saddle and climb again to the top. The summit is surprisingly broad and flat, with the Boeun plain below and, on clear days, layers of Baekdu-daegan ridges beyond. In autumn the colour slips in between the rocks.

Do not be fooled by the size. It is 876 m, but the climb hardly lets up, and the rocky ridge needs hands on the ropes. Parts of the trail close during the spring and autumn fire-prevention periods, so check dates first.

From Seoul (BUS)

From Cheongju, Daegu and elsewhere (BUS)

Last leg to the trailhead (CAR)