The hike to Seoraksan mountain

Wikipedia says:
"Seoraksan is the highest mountain in the Taebaek mountain range (태백산맥) in the Gangwon province in eastern South Korea. It is located in a national park near the city of Sokcho. After the Hallasan volcano on Jeju Island and Jirisan in the south, Seoraksan is the third highest mountain in South Korea. The Daechongbong Peak (대청봉) of Seoraksan reaches 1,708 metres (5,603 feet). The Taebaek mountain chain is often considered the backbone of the Korean peninsula."

Infact, the park is considered one of the most beautiful ones in Korea.
We started at sunrise, without actually knowing how long it takes to reach the summit, since no information was available to us. Actually, the only piece of information we did have from the Lonely planet was that the peak is closed. Well, LP Korea was again incorrect...




When we reached the park entrance, we finally learned some more details about the available trails. We also learned that it takes about 7 hours to reach the peak (and another 6 to come back)



At the entrance there is a nice Buddha statue (about 15m high):


And from a first glance, you don't understand what is all the fuss about, since there seem to be no water in the river:


But, after half hour's hike, you start to get the picture, and it is a beautiful one:




Water are running everywhere! There are numerous waterfalls and the entire scene is spectacular:



Obviously, we took great care to protect the poor bears from fallen rocks:


The hike is along a narrow valley ("Death Valley"), and as you reach a height of about 500m (notice, the hike starts at about 100m or so), a gorgeous rocky ridge appears:





A quick stop at the first Shelter. Hmm... What's up doc?


And we continued upwards:




Near the second shelter, at a height of 1050m, this is what we saw:



The summit was covered with thick rain clouds. After hiking for about 5 hours, we learned that it will take about 3 hours to reach the top, and that the last part involves an ascend of 500 m that should be covered in 2 hours. At this point, we decided to give up the climb to the summit. Mai was quite exausted and Shay thought nothing should be seen from the top, so we started our descent and enjoyed the landscape around us.





At the basecamp, we found an artist who draws on wood using a welding torch. Amazing!