Suraksan Hiking Guide: The Entrance Locals Keep Quiet
Why Most Foreigners Get Suraksan Wrong From the Start Every foreign hiker I have driven to Suraksan has asked me the same question on the way there: 'Is it really that crowded?' The honest answer depends entirely on which entrance you use. Pick the wrong one and you are shuffling up a concrete path behind a column of weekend warriors in matching visors. Pick the right one and you will spend most of the morning alone on a granite ridge with a view over the Han River basin that almost nobody in Seoul knows about. Suraksan sits in the northeastern corner of Seoul, straddling the boundary between Nowon-gu and Jungnang-gu, and it tops out at 638 metres. It is not the tallest mountain in the city, but the summit ridge is sharper and more exposed than Bukhansan, and the rock scrambling near the top is genuinely satisfying. The problem is that most people — Korean weekend hikers and foreign visitors alike — funnel in through the Sanggye-dong trailhead near Danggogae Station, which ...