Gayasan National Park (가야산 국립공원) is especially famous in Korea for being the home of Haeinsa Temple (해인사). Haeinsa houses the Tripitaka Koreana, 81,258 wooden printing blocks which contain the entire Buddhist canon, without a single error among them. This collection of printing blocks was added to UNESCO’s list of World Cultural Heritages in 1995.
A view from near the top of Gayasan
Haeinsa is having some major construction projects done at the moment, and a sign indicated that it will not be finished until the end of 2011. Rather than take pictures of construction projects, I went strait to the highest peak on Gayasan called Sangwangbong (상왕봉/1,430m).
Fog rolling over Gayasan and its hikers
The trail I took is accessible from the road that goes to the left of the entrance to the temple. It’s only 4km to the top and the trail is only moderately difficult. It took me about 2 hours to climb. There’s really not much to see as you climb except for an old Buddhist statue a few meters down a side trail. But once you get near the top, the view suddenly changes.
Nature is wonderful
On the day I went to Gayasan, the skies were a little overcast which made it impossible to see far distances. However, right as I reached the peak, a dense fog enveloped the mountain and gave the place an interesting feel. The fog actually came from below the mountain. I sat at the top while enjoying the foggy scene, eating my lunch and hearing the sound of frogs chirping from the water of a small puddle in the rock bed. Then it was time to go home.
Buddhist rock sculpture on Gayasan
Sitting at my desk and looking back, this was a relatively moderate hike which most folks should be able to do and is a great addition to one’s visit to Haeinsa. I’ll be heading back as soon as the construction is finished to photograph the temple and to explore one of the other trails up Gayasan.
Resources
Gayasan National Park (Wikipedia)
Gayasan National Park (Korean National Parks)
Gayasan National Park (Korea in the Clouds)
Gayasan National Park (Korea Tourism Organization)
Gayasan National Park (koreasanha.net) (Korean only)
Gayasan (San-shin.net)
Haeinsa Temple (UNESCO)
Haeinsa Temple (Wikipedia)
[...] Flowers and cosplay at Yangjae Station. The QiRanger stops by a street temple in Busan. Beautiful Mt. Gayasan National Park, home of Haeinsa. Suwon Hwaseong’s Hwahongmun Gate at night. The Hangang from Ichon, in [...]
May 17th, 2012 at 14:13