Jeju Island: Hiking Mount Hallasan by Eorimok Trail

It was definitely a trek, and we were on one of the easier shorter trails. But as the locals say, “Jeju is Mount Halla; and Mount Halla is Jeju.” As the tallest mountain in South Korea, a visit to Jeju Island would not be complete without a hike up to the summit or as far as one can go, of Mount Halla. Rising 1,950 meters above sea level, it can be seen from everywhere on the island, that is when the clouds aren’t surrounding the top. Do you NEED to visit Hallasan Mountain on Jeju Island? Yes, absolutely. And, you should add a whole day to your Jeju itinerary to see it.

Plan a trip to Hallasan Mountain:

• What To Know About Mount Hallasan
• The Trails on Hallasan Mountain
• Eorimok Trail on Hallasan Mountain Detailed
• Do you need a guide on Mount Hallasan?
• When is the best season to hike on Mount Hallasan?
• What to pack for a hike on Mount Halla

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What To Know About Mount Hallasan

Mount Hallasan has an altitude of 1,950 meters and is the tallest mountain in South Korea. You can see Halla mountain from all around Jeju Island. You might also hear the name Yeongjusan when talking about this mountain. Yeongjusan is another moniker given to the mountain which means “mountain high enough to pull the galaxy”. To see there is a lot of folklore surrounding this mountain is an understatement. With a unique ecosystem that stems from it’s volcanic geology and topography, there are some really beautiful and dramatic views to be had here. At the top of Mt. Halla, visitors find Baengnokdam crater that has a depth of 108 meters and a width of 550 meters.

Baengnokdam erupted thousands of years ago. In 2007, ‘Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes’ were designated as Korea’s first UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site and the natural splendor of the mountain is worth every step up to see. If you want to get up to the mountain on your own and find the best spots, look into renting a car while you’re on the island. Public transportation isn’t super easy to use on Jeju and wait times between buses can be long. Rent a car and it definitely made our trip MUCH easier and allowed us to maximize our time on the island. You’ll need the whole day to hike to really enjoy the mountain so don’t let waiting for a bus stand in your way.

Mount Hallasan Admission: FREE

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The Trails on Hallasan Mountain

There are five hiking trails on Hallasan Mountain and some hiking enthusiasts will go back again and again to hike them all or hike every season because it’s beautiful and different in every season. You should note that there is no camping on the mountain. Make sure you know the opening and closing hours of the Hallasan National Park because you cannot stay overnight. You need to finish your hike within the day.

• Gwaneumsa Trail: 8.7 km
  • This trail on the northern side of the mountain goes all the way to the summit.
  • Takes about 10-12 hours in total
  • There’s a campsite at the trail entrance for this trek if you want to get the earliest start you can, spend the night there before.
  • Gwaneumsa Trail requires a reservation. It can be closed due to inclement weather at the top.
• Seongpanak Trail: 9.6 km
  • This trail is on the eastern side of the mountain and goes all the way to the summit.
  • Though the longest trail, it takes about 9-11 hours in total.
  • This trail can be a bit treacherous so it’s not recommended to do this trail on your own. 
  • Seongpanak Trail requires a reservation. It can be closed due to inclement weather at the top.
• Eorimok Trail: 4.7 km
  • This trail only goes to the midway point.
  • This trail takes about 6-8 hours in total.
  • This trail takes you to Witsae Oreum and Nambyeok which are prone to severe and quick weather changes including fog and lightning so stay vigilant about checking the weather.
• Yeongsil Trail: 3.7 km
  • This trail only goes to the midway point.
  • This trail takes about 6-7 hours in total.
• Deonnaeko Trail: 9.1 km
  • This trail only goes to the midway point.
  • This trail takes you to Witsae Oreum and Nambyeok which are prone to severe and quick weather changes including fog and lightning so stay vigilant about checking the weather

For everyone’s safety, there are rangers on the mountain and if you don’t reach certain points early enough in the day, they won’t let you continue as they know you won’t be able to make it back to the bottom by night fall so be aware and respectful of their guidance. Hallasan National Park opens at 5:00am from  May through August and 6:00am from September through April. If you don’t reach the uppermost shelters by certain times, you’ll be turned away later in the day and told you won’t be able to make it to the top. As nightfall comes later in the summer months, you can hike up to these points the latest in the summer. 

To ensure you have enough time, in the winter months, you should plan on getting on the mountain by 9:00am at the latest. In the summer months, you can get on the mountain by 10:00am at the latest. And in the spring and fall, you should get on the mountain by no later than 9:30am.

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Eorimok Trail on Hallasan Mountain Detailed

At the start of our trip, we headed toward the Yeongsil Trail. On the southwest of the mountain, this trail is the shortest and so, as we realized, is quite popular with the tourists looking to get a half days hike in. The cars wrapped around down the street, and though we were just in front of the parking ticket booth, the attendant told us that the cars wrapped around for quite some time and we’d be waiting awhile. He directed us to head just around the bend to Eorimok Trail on the northwest side of the mountain if we wanted to jump right into the hike and still be able to finish in time.

This trail is short and relatively easy for beginners, we were told. I hike at least once a month as most of my readers may be able to tell by my posts about hiking with the teachers, but my husband does not. He came to the mountain in jeans and sneakers if that says anything, though he wasn’t the worst by far. We saw a girl with a skirt and flip flops on and countless tourists in dresses making their way up the mountain. I do not suggest this to anyone going up this trail, it’s not that easy though it is the chosen course for families with people ranging from young children to the elderly as we found out.

If you’re unsure about where to go and how to get there, join a tour that’s going up. They’ll keep you on the up and up… and then the down and down too.

Signs every couple of kilometers let hikers know how far they’d come, which areas were the most difficult, and which areas to look forward to. It was great way to get people to pace themselves. The first hour of the Eorimok trail was the most strenuous, as the signs had led us to believe would be so, but once up and out of the lush forest a wooden platform path with a slight incline wrapped the rest of the way up the treeless slope. Yeongsil trail and Eorimok trail met up at Witseoreum.

Here hikers rested and had their fill of ramen and coffee and chocolate bars. At this point there was a choice to be made. We opted to hike even further toward Mount Halla to South Wall Fork, even though we could see the peak of Mt. Halla clearly from here. Getting to the peak is what I’d hoped for, but unfortunately the trail from this side had been marked restricted to allow years of hikers’ foot prints to be taken over once again by the mountain. Not many hikers continued on from Witseoreum, instead they went down Yoeongsil trail or just turned around.

The path was quiet past the rest stop and overgrown in some areas. It was so quiet in fact that a young deer came out of hiding and stood quite close to where we stood. Crows squawked all around Witseoreum, leaving a very eerie impression on me, but once we’d made it out of eyesight of the rest stop, the crows’ sounds ceased and a calm serenity could be found. We met only a few other hikers along the path and took the time to enjoy the view of the mountain, of the oceans below and of the meadows surrounding us. It was truly breathtaking. Nature always has a way of dazzling me.

In total, Eorimok to Witseoreum was 4.7 kilometers and from there to South Wall Fork was another 2.1 kilometers. By the time we made it back down the mountain, exhausted and in need of immediate full body massages we had hiked 13.6 kilometers up and down. It was well worth it and the full body massages we received afterward were well deserved. Next time, I want to hike a trail that will allow me to get all the way to top!

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Do you need a guide on Mount Hallasan?

To be honest, you really don’t. The routes are very well detailed and there are signboards posted throughout the trail so you can easily see how far you’ve come and how far you still have yet to go. If you’re not used to hiking or want assistance, you definitely can take a guide, but by and large, most people are just hiking on their own at their leisure.

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When is the best season to hike on Mount Hallasan?

Most people recommend hiking in the spring and autumn when the breezes are cool and the sun shines brightly. The winter can be beautiful with everything covered in snow and it is one of those hikes that Korean hiking clubs will plan last minute if they hear a snow storm has fluffed everything up, but unless you’re an experienced hiker, I wouldn’t recommend that.

The summer months in Korea are also dreadfully hot and humid and there’s isn’t much coverage at all once you get through the first forested area of the trails so if summer is the only time you can go, pack a ton of water.

We went in the autumn which was really ideal. We needed a light jacket when we got higher up, but overall it was comfortable temperature wise and we weren’t too hot or cool and still had plenty of flora and fauna to see.

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What to pack for a hike on Mount Halla

Generally, you can pack light for a hike on Mount Hallasan and should include:

• Breathable sportswear for clothing
• A jacket for when you get higher up
• Hat, sunglasses, and sun cream are a must
• Insect repellant
• Plenty of water
• Some snacks
• More challenging routes (Not Eorimok Trail or Yeongsil Trail) require more hiking gear and climbing equipment especially in the winter.

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There are amazing things to see on Jeju Island and hiking up Mt. Halla is just one of them! If you need some seaside fun after you hike, don’t miss the gorgeous Hamdeok Beach before you leave Jeju Island. You should also check out the epic Jeongbang Waterfall, Sanbang Grotto and the beautiful Yakcheonsa Temple.

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