Jeju Olle Trail

The Olle is a network of numbered walking routes that join into a loop around Jeju, following the coast for most of their length and cutting inland over oreum, through farmland and along old village lanes. There are more than twenty main routes, each a day's walk of roughly fifteen to twenty kilometres, marked with blue and orange ribbons, painted arrows and small blue pony figures at junctions. Local buses reach the start and end of nearly every route, so walkers can do one section a day and sleep in the same place for several nights. The name comes from the Jeju word for the narrow lane leading from the road to a house. Nothing is technical; the difficulty is distance and exposure.

History

The trail was the idea of Suh Myung-sook, a former journalist born on Jeju, who was inspired by the Camino de Santiago; she set up the Jeju Olle Foundation, which built the routes and still plans new ones and looks after the paths. It has grown to 21 numbered main routes, six sub-routes and a spur to the airport, about 437 kilometres in all, and because routes are changed and re-routed over time the exact length keeps shifting (Wikipedia, Jeju Olle Trail).

What you'll find

• The coastal sections - black lava shore, fishing villages and stone walls along the water.
• The oreum climbs - short ascents of the small volcanic cones for wide island views.
• The waymarking - blue and orange ribbons and the small pony markers at junctions.
• Farmland and lanes - tangerine groves, dry-stone walls and quiet village back roads.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the walking seasons: mild, dry and clear. Summer is humid, exposed and typhoon-prone, and the coastal routes offer almost no shade. Winter walking is possible but windy and raw. Start early, carry water, and check the bus timetable for the far end of the route before you set out.

Before you go

The routes are long and the coast is exposed, so a hot or windy day makes fifteen kilometres feel much further. Waymarking is good but not perfect, and ribbons go missing where routes cross roads. Some sections run along tarmac beside traffic rather than shoreline. Buses on the quieter parts of the island can be infrequent, which strands walkers who finish late.

Nearby

Routes pass close to Seongsan Ilchulbong, the Jungmun coast and Seogwipo's waterfalls.