Mudeungsan National Park

Mudeungsan rises to 1,187 metres directly behind Gwangju - close enough that city buses reach the trailheads - and it became a national park in 2013 and a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2018. The geology is what earned that: near the summit stand three groups of columnar joints, hexagonal rock pillars up to twenty metres tall formed when a lava flow cooled and cracked around eighty-five million years ago. Ipseokdae and Seoseokdae are the largest and are reachable on the main trails; Gyubong-am, a third group on a spur, sits beside a hermitage. The name means the mountain without equal, and the profile from the city is a long gentle dome that hides how rocky the top is. Jeungsimsa and Wonhyosa temples sit in the valleys, there is a tea plantation on the lower slopes at Chunseolheon, and the ridge walk between the summit areas is long and open.

What you actually see

• Ipseokdae and Seoseokdae - the columnar rock pillars near the top.
• Gyubong-am - the third pillar group beside its hermitage.
• The temples - Jeungsimsa and Wonhyosa in the valleys.
• The city below - Gwangju spread out from the ridge.

When to go

April to June and October; azalea in spring and colour in autumn. Weekends bring the city out in numbers - the lower trails are busy.

Honest expectations

The summit area itself has restricted access for conservation and is opened only on set dates - most visitors reach the pillars but not the highest point. Climbs are long, four to six hours return. Free entry.

Nearby

Gwangju city is at the foot; Damyang's bamboo and metasequoia road are 30 minutes north.