Dobongsan 도봉산 via Podae Ridge 포대능선, Bukhansan National Park, Seoul, Korea
Dobongsan (740m) via Podae Ridge in Bukhansan National Park is one of Seoul’s classic walks to granite strewn peaks with city views for miles.
Dobongsan (740m) is a peak at the northern end of Bukhansan National Park, and is an alternative climb to the park’s highest peak, Baegundae. The scenery is similar – which is to say excellent – although slightly less spectacular. It’s probably quieter though, and I enjoyed the partial circuit via Podae Ridge. There are the usual granite outcrops, attractive forest (in the right season), and a couple of temples to visit along the way.
There are in fact a bunch more temples at the Dobong Station end of the route, which was the end for me, but could be where you start. Track notes at the end of my post.
Dobongsan 도봉산 via Podae Ridge 포대능선: The Scenery
I stopped by a bottle shop on the way to the start. (Actually a restaurant). There were some rather dry looking waterfalls/ cascades. It hardly rains at all in the Korean winter, and perhaps the spring rains were overdue. A photo taken by my wife Sophia a year earlier, perhaps a couple of weeks later in spring. Mangwolsa Temple was built in the 600s, but entirely destroyed in the Korea war, then subsequently rebuilt.
Looking along Podae Ridge to the summit. Layers of mountains all through Seoul/ Gyeongido. Views from the summit. I climbed the peak in the distance (left) – Baegundae 백운대, the park’s highest – last year when we visited. Panorama from the summit. The centre of Seoul is to the right, with Lotte Tower out of frame. It was a bit hazy and I’ve already got better shots of this impressive structure at sunset. Rock formations on the summit. That’s probably the true summit there.
One taken by my wife Sophia here from when she climbed this mountain the year before. That’s Lotte World Tower in the middle. Although many of the hillsides were still bare, the brown and grey were punctuated by the bright colours of spring flowers. The pink flowers top right are Jindallae / Korean Rhododendron. On the way down I visited another temple, the oldest temple in the area, Cheonchuksa, dating from the 600s (although clearly some of these carvings and statues were newer additions). A sneaky interior shot at Cheonchuksa. There were these tall white blossoms around. There were multiple temples near the Dobongsan Station end of the route (like, maybe 10 clusters?). I didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but I stopped in at this small complex next to a stream. A temple gate. Walking back to the station along a cherry blossom lined street full of casual outdoor restaurants.
Track Notes
I started at Mangwolsa Station (top right in my map), and walked via Mangwolsa temple (the ‘M’ on my map), along Podae Ridge to the hiker’s summit (Shinseondae) and then down to Dobongsan station via Cheonchuksa temple (the ‘C’).
As with many walks in Korea there are various trails to the top, but the main routes are usually more prominent than the less official tracks. I did this walk from Mangwolsa Station (top right in my map) to Dobongsan station, via Mangwolsa temple (the ‘M’ on my map), along Podae Ridge to the hiker’s summit (Shinseondae, 726m) and then down via Cheonchuksa temple (the ‘C’). The true summit of Jaunbong (740m) is a big lump of rocks that would only be accessible by rock climbing.
I actually missed Cheonchuksa temple on my descent route, and had to walk a few hundred metres back up to it. If you concentrate better than me then you can take the route which passes by the temple.
I’ll let you work out how to find your way between stations and the start and end, because I don’t quite remember which roads I took. I use an app based on open access topo maps and/ or Google maps to find my way places. There is more information about Dobongsan on various websites in Korean and English, including the Visit Korea website
2 thoughts on “Dobongsan 도봉산 via Podae Ridge 포대능선, Bukhansan National Park, Seoul, Korea”
When I hiked there around the Chuseok autumn holiday in 2018, finishing where you started, crowds of hikers made slow progress along the narrow high portions. There was a section near the summit with a simple fence (a single chain linking metal poles), meant to keep hikers away from a steep drop. A slim, spry man in a bicycle helmet proceeded to walk past the rest of us along the outside of this flimsy fence before diverging from the official route entirely. He was probably in his 60s or early 70s. We watch him as he descended into the bush, then reemerged on top of the next outcropping, and so on, until he disappeared from sight.
Hi Mark. I certainly remember that section. There was a constant stream of hikers there even on a weekday, and I waited quite a while to take a photo without people in the foreground. I wonder what the bicycle helmet was all about. In lieu of a climbing helmet perhaps?
When I hiked there around the Chuseok autumn holiday in 2018, finishing where you started, crowds of hikers made slow progress along the narrow high portions. There was a section near the summit with a simple fence (a single chain linking metal poles), meant to keep hikers away from a steep drop. A slim, spry man in a bicycle helmet proceeded to walk past the rest of us along the outside of this flimsy fence before diverging from the official route entirely. He was probably in his 60s or early 70s. We watch him as he descended into the bush, then reemerged on top of the next outcropping, and so on, until he disappeared from sight.
Hi Mark. I certainly remember that section. There was a constant stream of hikers there even on a weekday, and I waited quite a while to take a photo without people in the foreground. I wonder what the bicycle helmet was all about. In lieu of a climbing helmet perhaps?