DANYANG

What's there to see in Danyang? Well, there's a little bit of everything… and… !! You're going to get plenty of exercise along the way !!

About 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes from Seoul lies this small village on the banks of a river, surrounded by mountains and two natural parks (Woraksan to the west and Sobaeksan to the east). If you have some extra time, you can even make stops along the way to see other places along the Namhan River.

INTRODUCTION: HOW TO GET AROUND

As soon as you arrive at the bus or train station, you’ll start to realize that it’s not going to be a walk in the park… Unlike in Seoul, local buses only have signs in Korean, and the information boards with their schedules and routes won’t be much help 😓😓

To make matters worse, there are no ATMs with the “Global” logo (the only ones that accept foreign credit cards), so you have to carry a lot of cash or exchange currency at one of their NH banks on the main street of the town at a pretty bad exchange rate.

Fortunately, there is a fantastic tourist office (located opposite the bus station, across the bridge) where they also speak English ☺️ and where they will provide you with an indispensable document: the bus guide to tourist sites.

Well... how do we translate this?

At the top of each section, you will find the departure points for the buses: the “Danuri Center Terminal” is the bus station itself; the “Tourist Hotel” is the Edelweiss Hotel at the other end of the city, following the main road west (it is a huge building and impossible to miss). Regarding the latter, buses do NOT depart from the hotel but from the regular bus stops nearby; the hotel is only a reference point.

The times in the left column indicate when the bus departs, and those on the right indicate the return time at the FINAL destination.

WHAT TO SEE IN DANYANG: THE TOUR

Let's get right to the point: What is there to see in Danyang? Well, there are plenty of things to do, with something for everyone…

Gosu Cave

The city's main attraction is this enormous cave, located on the outskirts of town, a 10-minute walk from the Tourist Information Office. Admission costs 11,000 won (very expensive by Korean standards), but it's worth the price because it's very, very deep, with many chambers and plenty of interesting spots to take photos.

Warning: There are a lot of stairs (you spend the entire tour going up and down), and the cave is extensive; it’s not suitable for people with claustrophobia or mobility issues. What was really cool, though, was that with your admission ticket, they gave you some great gloves—the kind that stick to your hands—so you could move around easily and hold on to all those damp stalagmites…

This is the official website… but it's in Korean, oh well…: http://www.gosucave.co.kr

Let's go for a bike ride

Beyond the cave in Danyang itself, there isn't much else to do except rent a bike and ride along the wonderful bike path that runs along the river.

This is the “easy” route—you don’t have to leave the city to do it (since Danyang is situated along the river), and it’s completely flat. Along the way, you’ll come across all kinds of curious sights, like this fearsome scarecrow.

If you're looking for a more challenging route that's longer, here's another one—it's outside the city.

Woraksan National Park 

Getting to this national park from Danyang is quite a challenge... it's only 30 km away, but with my level of Korean, it's a world away...

Let's get started

You arrive at the bus station and ask for a ticket to Bokpyeongni. It's a junction between a main road (Route 36) and a secondary road that leads to the park. They won't know about this at the ticket office, so it's best to take a map with you or ask the tourist office to write it down in Korean and show it to the ticket clerk.

Get off at the Bokpyeongni stop, where there’s a huge bridge (you’ll need to tell the bus driver—either show him the word “bridge” in Korean or ask him to stop at the Worak Youth Hostel). You’ve now arrived at the bridge. Next, you’ll need to hitchhike the 5–6 km to the park entrance. I have to say that every time I hitchhiked in Korea, I always got a ride quickly ☺️

And once in the park, there are several routes to choose from to climb its highest mountain, Yeonbong.

The most direct and difficult route is veeeery steep, and it will take you about two and a half to three hours to reach the summit. There isn't even a false flat. The entire path is quite impassable except for the final part (stairs)... but hey, we made it ☺️

Even though I complain a lot, the trail is really beautiful, with temples and statues scattered here and there; you can also enjoy the sight of Koreans who are passionate about hiking: all of them perfectly equipped with state-of-the-art clothing, footwear, and accessories, and as tough as Marines. There were countless elderly women who left me in the dust, climbing like rockets, while I panted like a dog and made my way up at a snail’s pace…

Don't come back later than 7:30 p.m. or you won't find any buses to take you back to Danyang... and one last piece of advice: bring mosquito repellent. Lots of it. Seriously...

Sobaeksan National Park 

It's much easier to get here. There's a direct bus marked with the number one in the guide above, which drops you off almost next to the Park Information Office.

The climb up Birobong Peak, which dominates the park, is long (7 km) but infinitely easier than the previous one (about 3 hours to the top); I would almost say they even lay down a carpet for you to climb on 😜

It's a good way to spend a morning, but it won't take your breath away... especially when you reach the top and can't see anything because of the fog.

What to See in Danyang: The Must-See Guin-sa Temple

Anyone interested in taking a meditation course or simply learning about Buddhist culture can take a bus (again, consult the guide above) to this enormous temple surrounded by mountains, flowers, and nature.

It serves as the administrative and spiritual center of the Cheontae sect of Korean Buddhism, to which more than 140 branch temples belong. It was founded in 1945 by Grand Master Sangwol Wongak, initially beginning as a humble, hand-built thatched hut… and from there, the complex grew and grew until it could accommodate up to 10,000 monks and/or visitors at the same time.

It is nestled in a narrow, steep valley in the Sobaek Mountains. Due to the lack of horizontal space, its more than 50 buildings were built upward, so yes, once again you’ll have to go up and down nonstop… but it’s well worth it, because it’s maintained with meticulous care, and the various buildings were constructed to blend harmoniously with the mountains.

Although everything is very well maintained, it almost seems more like a school than one of those mystical Buddhist temples you find in Japan or Myanmar. It seems a little... “bureaucratic”... but hey, unlike me, avoid accidentally wandering into the monks' dormitories and everything will be fine 😅

You'd think that, like any good Buddhist monastery, they'd offer you a free lunch, but either I arrived late, or I got lost among the buildings, and/or I didn't quite figure out where they were serving it (as usual, no one here spoke English).

If someone asked me what to see in Danyang, the first thing I'd say is to visit this complex—it really is a wonderful experience.

For more information: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1634462

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And if you want to read more about South Korea: https://999millas.net/category/paises/corea-del-sur/

Next stop : Sri Lanka !

Texto y fotos : Mike !