Having been refreshed from my day about town, the Seoul Trail is firmly back on my mind. I settle in for some serious hiking this week. As in, up at 5am and out on the trail by 7am type hiking.

In case you’re wondering, Seoul at sunrise looks a little like this…

I fully embraced and came to enjoy my early morning hikes. It kept me cool and out of the worst of the day’s heat, the trails were generally quiet, and best of all I had usually finished by about 3pm thereby leaving me free to enjoy a nice afternoon shower, dinner, and rest. Best of both worlds.

I also got to explore Seoul while the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, which make the city incredibly beautiful and picturesque. You really can’t be miserable during cherry blossoms season. It’s impossible. It’s far too pretty and romantic.

Having said that, I also got to explore Seoul while the fine dust levels really sucked. I did receive rather a rather massive shock when I saw the fine dust, both while flying into the country – you couldn’t see any of the coastal islands at all – and while walking around the city in general. I suddenly realised that the once ever-present landmarks of the Seoul and Lotte Towers I could no longer see in the near distance, obscured instead by a brown-looking smog. Very different from autumn.     

Just to refresh your memory, the Seoul Trail looks like this…

It is a circular hike and covers the outskirts of the greater Seoul area for a total distance of 157km (about 98 miles). It is divided into 8 sections and traverses city streets, small mountain hiking paths, and skims the edge of Bukhansan National Park. You can choose to hike the areas in whatever order you wish, as the start and finish points are located near subway stations for ease of access.

I had previously happily completed sections 5 and 6, gritted my teeth through section 4 the other day, and for the next week would be tackling sections 3, 7, 2, 1 and 8 in that order. Why? I was attempting as much as possible to go from easy/moderate walking to hellish ‘why am I doing this hiking’ to build up fitness and tolerance first. I had been warned by Andrew under no circumstances to leave section 1 until last, he said it was the hardest by far and not a good vibe to end on. Therefore, I opted for 8 as my ending, which was the section through Bukhansan.

Here now I present to you a massive photo journal from each day. Things I saw. Things I liked. Things I appreciated.

Overall, the Seoul Trail was an amazing way to see different aspects of the city. It covered such a vast and diverse range of views and experiences. I would fully encourage anyone to do it. And of course, at the end of all that stamping…you get a certificate. Which. Is. Awesome. (The chap in the information office went to town and took about 14 photos of me and my certificate with numerous poses and banners – he was crazy for it).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, hiking in Korea is my utmost happy place.

If anyone has any questions regarding hiking the Seoul Trail (especially section 8 and splitting it into 2 days), feel free to drop me a line and I will do my best to give you some tips.