Last week I wrote about Bullo-dong Tomb Park, one of Daegu’s few historical attractions. This week I will write about two more places of interest in Daegu which are conveniently located within walking distance to each other. They are Donghwasa Temple and the Daedeok Cable Car.

First up is Donghwasa, a temple built in 493 A.D. As far as interesting and distinctive features goes, the outside has a rock carving of Buddha and the inside has a huge stone statue of Buddha.

Donghwasa Buddist Rock Carving

In addition to the carving and statue, the scenery around the temple is beautiful. You can see the mountains rising up in the distance, which gives the temple a nice feel.

Main Entrance

One of my favorite things to see in any Buddhist temple are the Four Kings statues located at the entrance of every temple. The Four Kings are the guardians of the temple. Each temple’s Four Kings have the same basic traditional features, yet have unique appearances.

One Of The Four Heavenly Kings Sculptures

A child fetches a drink of water

Donghwasa won’t take up too much of your time. After you’ve seen the huge Buddha statue and explored the Buddhist artwork around the temple grounds, you will be ready to move on.

Giant Buddhist Statue

Just a 10 minute walk away is the Daedeok Cable Car, which will take you up to a mountain peak where you will be able to view a small portion of the area. On the way there I stumbled across a giant climbing wall.

Outdoor climbing wall near Donghwasa Temple

As you can see in the photos I took from the cable car and top of the mountain, I visited during the fall. The colors of the trees were impressive to look at from the cable car, although the ride was short.

Daedeok Cable Car

At the top of the peak are a small Korean restaurant and a small overlook for viewing the area. In all honesty, the view is not as magnificent as I expected, even with the fall colors. In fact, I was disappointed with the view.

Less than spectacular view from the peak

Sitting at my desk and looking back, I cannot give a strong recommendation to visit both of these sites. If you are into temples, Donghwasa would be interesting enough. However, the view from the top of the cable car ride is just not worth the trip.

Resources
Donghwasa (Galbijim)
Daedok Cable Car (Daegu Tourism)

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