The Ara SkyWalk, Waterfall & Flower Cafe Not Far From Seoul
The Gyeong-in Ara Waterway runs from Gimpo to Incheon and has bike paths, walking paths and more for the active among us. For the less so, or the toddler toting, there is an awesome suspended circular glass bottom bridge just next to Korea’s largest man-made waterfall. Want to take a little trip and see something different? Check out the Ara Maru (아라마루전망대).
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How To Get There
Address: 79-4 Duksil-dong, Gyeyang-gu, Incheon (지번인천 계양구 둑실동 79-4)
By public transportation: From Gyeyang subway station, go out the front and catch bus 583. The bus will go 9 stops and take just 7 minutes and then you can walk to the skywalk and waterfall.
What To See
The canal spans 18 kilometers and is 80 meters wide and 6 meters deep and connects the Han River to the Yellow Sea. Apparently the waterway construction was first planned and started during the 13th century by King Gojong, the 26th king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty but there were too many obstacles and the waterway was never completed. That was until 2011.
Ara Maru is where the circular sky walk that is 45 meters above the water is located. It is open from 9:00am until 10:00pm and lights up at night if you want to stay into the evening. If you’re afraid of heights, this is probably not the bridge for you. My little one went running down the wooden plank pathway and as soon as the glass floor began, she stopped dead in her tracks. It’s a good view though.
FYI: If you’re into sky walks, there’s an amazing one in Danyang, a very cool one overlooking a waterfall north of Seoul, and a must see one in Busan, too. None of these are to be missed. I personally love these glass structures as I’m not fearful of heights. If you are… maybe avoid these I guess? But check out my pics of them in any case.
Nearby is a massive waterfall. It isn’t always flowing though so be aware of that. It was NOT flowing when we just visited. The waterfall is 150 meters wide and 50 meters high and pretty cool when it is flowing though. I’ve seen it when driving by before.
Back to this particular sky walk structure, there are also ports, bridges and more along the waterway for visitors to check out. If you want to see it ALL and cycle your way along, you can rent bikes and from the Ara cycle path to the Han River takes approximately 2 hours. If cycling isn’t your jazz, you can take a cruise from Ara Waterway out to Incheon Pier or the opposite way for W16,000. If you want a longer trip, take a cruise from Yeouido Island out to Ara and then on to Deokjeokdo Island and back for W57,700.
At the sky walk there is a cafe and restaurant, but we decided to head to something a bit more flowery around the bend. Just a seven minute drive across a nearby bridge is Rose Stella Garden. The cafe has seating indoors and out, in a small greenhouse and inside the main building and all of the spaces are covered in potted flowers and plants.
The greenhouse is definitely what drew us in just like the other greenhouse cafes around Seoul that are trending. If you’re hungry, they don’t have any more than cakes, but if you’re looking for coffee and dessert with some beautiful surroundings, this is the spot. It seems off the beaten path and is a bit in the middle of nowhere, but that’s definitely up my alley.
Last spring and summer, I spent quite a bit of time getting out to Incheon and seeing what there is to see and it seems like there is just more and more and luckily it’s getting easier and easier to get out there. Last year, Arielle and I headed to Valor Cafe and Studios where some pretty cool music videos have been filmed and I also checked out the Fairytale Village, Chinatown and more that way that make for a great day trip in the area while on a comfortable family trip out to stay at the awesome Design Hotel called NEST.
This trip, as we were driving along, we spotted some new cool buildings being built around Magok Station and Arielle and I can’t wait to head back out when the area is completed. It looked reminiscent of the awesome design we found out in Songdo’s Central Park where the TriBowl seemingly floats on water. There’s really a lot to see out there and if you’ve got some time and want to do something a bit different, I definitely recommend heading out to Incheon as the weather gets better and better.
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