Woljeongsa Temple

The approach is the thing people describe first: a track of about a kilometre from the gate to the temple runs between fir trees planted in ranks, many of them over a century old and thirty metres tall, and the path under them - called the Jeonnamu-gil - is soft, dim and cold even in summer, and in snow it is the most photographed forest walk in Korea. At the end is Woljeongsa, founded in 643 on Odaesan, a mountain that Korean Buddhism treats as one of its sacred sites. In the courtyard stands an octagonal nine-storey stone pagoda of the Goryeo period, about fifteen metres tall and unusual in shape - most Korean pagodas are square - with a seated stone bodhisattva kneeling in front of it as if making an offering; the original figure is in the temple museum and a copy stands outside. The temple runs a well-known templestay. Sangwonsa and the Odaesan trails continue up the valley.

Highlights

• The fir avenue - the kilometre of century-old trees to the gate.
• The octagonal pagoda - the nine-storey Goryeo tower.
• The kneeling bodhisattva - the stone figure before the pagoda.
• The temple museum - the original carvings kept inside.

When to go

May to June and October for the forest; winter for snow on the fir avenue, which is the classic image. The valley is cold well into spring.

Before you go

Park fee is charged at the gate. The walk in is a kilometre each way - pleasant, not optional. The original bodhisattva is in the museum, not outside.

Nearby

Sangwonsa is further up the valley; the Daegwallyeong sheep farm and Pyeongchang are south.

Key facts