Jusangjeolli Cliff

When lava from Hallasan reached the sea at Jungmun and cooled, it contracted and cracked into columns, and the result is a cliff face of stacked hexagonal and pentagonal pillars running for a few hundred metres along the shore, up to about twenty metres high, with the sea working at the base and throwing spray up the face in a swell. It is a designated natural monument and the best example of columnar jointing in the country. Viewing is from a boardwalk and railed platforms along the clifftop, built so that the formation is seen side-on down the coast; going down to the rocks is not possible. The whole visit takes about half an hour beyond the walk from the gate. It sits inside the Jungmun resort district, so it combines with the Yeomiji botanic garden, the Cheonjeyeon falls and the Jungmun beach, and it is on every Jeju bus tour, which shows at midday.

What you actually see

• The column wall - hexagonal basalt pillars along the cliff.
• The sea at the base - swell breaking and spraying up the face.
• The boardwalk - the railed viewing route along the top.
• The Jungmun coast - the resort shoreline either side.

When to go

Year-round; a swell makes the spray more dramatic. Early morning or late afternoon avoids the tour-bus hours in the middle of the day.

Honest expectations

You view from above and behind railings - there is no access to the rocks. It is a half-hour stop, ticketed. Midday brings coach parties and queues on the narrow boardwalk.

Nearby

Cheonjeyeon falls and Yeomiji garden are in Jungmun; Sanbangsan is west along the coast.