Hidden Temples of Gyeongju 🇰🇷 | Walking Through Namsan Mountain & the Giant Buddha

Описание: In this walking tour I explore hidden temples and mountain trails in Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom, which ruled Korea for nearly 1,000 years.

The walk begins at a temple at the base of Namsan Mountain, inside Gyeongju National Park. From there I climb through forest trails visiting hidden Buddhist sites surrounded by nature.

Along the way I reach the ancient Janghang-ri Five-story Stone Pagoda, a stone pagoda built during the Silla period. These pagodas were used to preserve sacred Buddhist relics and represent enlightenment in Buddhist culture.

Continuing the climb, I arrive at a temple higher in the mountain where a giant Buddha statue carved in stone overlooks the valley. Namsan Mountain is famous for its hundreds of Buddhist relics, statues, pagodas and temple ruins hidden throughout the forest.

But the adventure took an unexpected turn…

After leaving the temple and walking deeper into the mountain, I started seeing warning signs about bears and venomous wasps. There were almost no people around anymore. Then suddenly, an alarm started sounding somewhere deep in the mountains.

I stopped and translated a red warning sign written in Korean, and the translation suggested that walking beyond that point might not be allowed. With the forest completely quiet and the alarm echoing in the distance, I decided it was probably better to turn back.

This walk ended up being almost 19 km through the mountains, exploring one of the most fascinating and mysterious historical areas of Korea.

📍 Distance walked: 18.57 km
⛰ Elevation gain: 703 m
👣 Steps: 26,677

💬 Question for you:
If you suddenly heard an alarm in the middle of a mountain with no one around… would you keep going or turn back? Let me know in the comments.