---
node: spot_sokcho_seoraksan
type: spot
slug: seoraksan
destination: dest_sokcho
title: "Seoraksan"
lead: "Seoraksan is the third highest mountain in South Korea at 1,708 metres and the best known of its national parks, a granite massif of ridges and gorges half an hour from Sokcho. Its autumn colour arrives in the second week of October."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_sokcho_seoraksan.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cheondang_Waterfall_at_Seoraksan.jpg"
image_author: "Yoo Chung"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 3.0"
---

## Overview

The park is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and holds Korea's densest concentration of granite spires; the outer valleys are walkable in a day, the inner ridges are serious mountain country. A cable car runs from the entrance to Gwongeumseong, a rock fortress ridge, which is why most visitors reach a summit without a long climb. Sinheungsa temple, at the gate, has a fourteen-metre bronze Buddha of 1997 that is the first thing everyone photographs.

## Highlights

The Ulsanbawi trail is the classic day walk, four hours return with 808 steel steps at the end. In peak autumn the cable car queue is two hours; book online or go on a weekday. Buses from Sokcho take thirty minutes and drop at the park gate, where the entrance fee is separate from the cable car.