Top 5 Nature spots in Seoul
Seoul is a vast city, mixing tradition and modernity. Because of its size, you’ll need to take transportation to go around and see most of the town. It is a busy capital.
In South Korea, people go out a lot, either to go to restaurants, cafes, or to go out or to study. Koreans live a lot outside of their home. So even if this city has a very clean and peaceful vibe overall, you still might feel the need to find calmer and less dense spaces. Nature has this effect, and the capital offers many nice parks or walks where you can take a break from urban life.
Here are some places I really enjoyed for this purpose!
This is my favorite park. You’ll have to walk quite a bit to get up here but the view is worth it! Located at the top of a hill, this park is composed of beautiful high herbs through which you can walk. It also offers a beautiful view of Han river and the city.
The light is particularly beautiful at the end of the day, when the sun is low, it offers a pretty sunset!
There used to be a highway at that location, which hid the stream. In 2005 they started a renovation project to restore this whatever way. It is now a lovely walk going from the south of Gwanghwamun Square passing through the heart of Seoul to finish in the Han river. You can access it at any point, so don’t hesitate to check if you are close to it at some point during your visit!
This park is quite famous, you can find the N Seoul Tower in it. However, there is more than that. This mountain is a beautiful place to have a walk or small hikes, and it offers different point of views on Seoul. Whether you come in Autumn, Winter or Spring, you will see lovely landscapes that change with the seasons. Many entrances exists. I personally went through the Namsam Dulle-gil Entrance 남산 둘레길 진입로, but you can access it from wherever you come.
Like many places in Seoul, this trail is on a hill. You’ll have a beautiful view of Seoul while walking next to a rampart from the XIV century. I really enjoyed that place, it felt particularly peaceful. It is lovely to observe Seoul from a different point of view than what we are used to. To access it I went through the Ihwa Mural Village 이화동 벽화마을 which is a really nice and calm place, but you can access it from different entrance.
This mountain is a bit far from Seoul, but it offers a majestic panorama. The hike is absolutely beautiful, especially the top with its dramatic scenery. You can access it by line 1 or 7. The length of this hike it 7km with an elevation gain of 650m. It is not technical but a bit intense. If you see a lot of elderly people doing this hike, don’t get fooled, it is not that easy they are in really good shape. Here is an article with more info and the link to all trails
