The Seoul City Wall

The wall was completed in 1396 around the four inner mountains that ring the old capital, and it still traces that line: Bugaksan to the north, Naksan to the east, Namsan to the south and Inwangsan to the west. Roughly two thirds of the eighteen-kilometre circuit survives or has been rebuilt, and you can read the repairs in the stonework, from the rough boulders of the first campaign to the neat squared blocks of the eighteenth century. Four great gates and several smaller ones remain. Walking it is the cheapest good day out in Seoul: granite steps, pine trees, and the city dropping away on both sides of the ridge.

What you actually see

• The Inwangsan section - granite slabs and boulders, with the best views west at sunset.
• The Naksan section - the easy stretch, gently graded and lit after dark.
• Heunginjimun and Sungnyemun - the surviving great gates at the east and south.
• The stonework - four distinct block styles marking six centuries of repairs.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the sensible seasons; the ridges are fully exposed and Seoul in July is hot and humid. Late afternoon into sunset gives the best light, and the Naksan stretch is worth doing after dark. Some upper sections close in the evening and in high winds, and the gates have posted opening hours.

Honest expectations

It is a real walk, with long flights of steep granite steps and little shade, and the full circuit takes most of a day. Several stretches vanish into traffic and housing, where you follow street signs rather than wall. Some hillside sections have controlled entrances with fixed hours. There is little water or food on the ridges.

Nearby

Bukchon and Changdeokgung sit inside the wall; Dongdaemun is on the eastern line.