We got up extra early to beat the heat then drove to Dosolam/Dosoram hermitage (도솔암), known for its isolation and great views. This is day 2 of a five-day trip to Haenam and Mokpo with Romana.
The heat was exhausting yesterday, so after the storms of the previous night, we made an effort to get up early! I took a few early morning photos of the post storm skies looking across the estuary. Then we jumped in the car and drove about an hour(!) to south west side of Dalmasan.
Dosolam Hermitage
From here you can drive most the way up on an army built road and park near the trailhead for Dosalam Hermitage (도솔암). The carpark is tiny (three spots plus a few on the roadside?!) so get there early if you’re driving. Fortunately mid-week we were the only ones there. From the carpark, there are great views. You then hike about 800m along a forest trail north. Along the way, there are other spots you can get views westwards and also the amazing rock formations along the ridge of Dalmasan.
Eventually you reach an intersection which leads to Dosolam Hermitage. It’s a tiny place somewhat hidden between two columns of rock. First, you need to walk down some rock steps to an area reserved for lots of roof tiles; these are tiles people purchase for use by the temple. There is writing on them that might be prayers or some other messages for the person who donated the money.
You then walk up some rock steps to the hermitage building. It looks onto a small terrace wchich overlooks the land below and the sea. A very spectacular view indeed.
Back to the tile area, you can walk a few metres to another building and from there look back at an alternative view of the hermitage.
We then walked back to the car. We could feel the heat beginning to come and it was only 9am! On the way, we met a man who said he was responsible far planting lots of trees up here. At the carpark were a two more cars. I waled to where the road was blocked to the public and saw the sign and tire-shredding nails! I was feeling a bit sleepy and had a tiny headache, perhaps from yesterday’s heat and the early start this morning? Anyway, I moved the car into a shady spot, put the aircon on and took a short nap. After about thirty minutes I felt a bit better and we drove to the Ttangkkeut coast and stopped at few view view spots on the way.
Fish at Ttangkkeut Maul village
At Ttangkkeut coast, we had drinks at Cafe Sijak (카페시작) where I had another nap…sorry Romana! By about 1pm we were getting hungry and we wandered around the village. We needed our umbrella because of the extreme heat. We went to Jeollado Gajeongsik Baekban (전라도가정식백반) for lovely grilled fish. It was in a nice looking cottage-style house.
Then we drove up north west along the coast to Ttangkkeut Beach (땅끝송호해수욕장) to sit in the shade and look at the sea; it was too hot to sit on the beach! It wasn’t until about 3pm that we felt like moving on. This heatwave was pretty draining! OUr next stop was a hidden teahouse which is in the next post.
Places visited this Haenam and Mokpo trip