Namhansanseong (남한산성) is a mountain fortress and fortified wall in the south east of Seoul, Korea. I’ve been a few times over the years, always by taking a small green bus up the windy mountain road. I’ve been with friends and family and had a few nice meals up there in the village area, one time even finishing the evening sat by blazing fire pit at one restaurant. The fortress wall surrounds and ‘protects’ the village in the valley which is home to cafes, restaurants, historical places, and the like. This time, I decided to hike up then around te northern part of the wall, before checking out parts of the village I hadn’t seen before and relaxing at a nice coffee shop with a terrace..

I started at the west side of the mountain at Macheon Station (마천역), the end of Line 5. I grabbed a late, samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) lunch at a restaurant called 주원산유황오리 and then headed west through the last part of town.

The road got smaller and there were a few hiking related shops and places to eat. There was a random, makeshift looking bookstore and Cheonguensa temple with bright yellow walls with cute Buddha pictures on it.

Eventually, I got to the tree line and a little more of an incline and started up the mountain trail. The trees were cooling and the trail seemed well used. There were some nice shady, rocky spots on the way up but nothing that really came out well in my photos. Apparently, there are boars. I don’t really want to come across one.

After a while, I got to the west gate of the wall and was impressed by the fact that it looked original, not rebuilt like a lot of historical places around Korea. The stones were old and weathered, and the gate itself had authentic looking mechanisms. Above the gate was the roofed area and a flag blowing in the breeze.

After this, I headed north along the wall where it was quite steep in places. There were good views looking west and north, including a place where you could see the Lotte World Tower and Namsan Seoul N-Tower almost in line with each other.

A bit further on, there was an section of the wall that sticks out perpendicular to the main wall for about 100 metres or so; this was so soldiers could get a better view in that direction and also attack people attacking the wall from the side.

Further on still was the north gate, with some lovely views into the valley. On further, was a secret entrance that lead to the outside of the fortress. I was curios about the actual peak of this mountain, so took a short detour through one of the gates; unfortunately, it didn’t really go to a big peak, just some older trails that probably formed more sections and fortifications, long since vanished.

I then went down into the village part of this area to have a look around and get some refreshments. There are quite a few restaurants and coffee shops dotted around, including some along a stream. It seems a few new buildings have been put up since I last came. I found a nice looking coffee place with a terrace called Sanseong Coffee House (산성커피집) and sat with a cold einspanner (Viennese) coffee.

Getting down meant taking bus number 9 bus, just south of the roundabout in the village area to Namhansanseong Entrance subway station on line 8. There was a short wait and as always, this was another highlight, racing down the narrow road on a tiny bus!

I think I’ll have to return and try a few more trails up and around this mountain.

The coffee shop: Sanseong Coffee House:

Cheonguensa temple:

Where to catch the Bus 9 to Namhansanseong Entrance subway station (남한산성입구역) or Sanseong Station (산성역). You need to wait, NOT here but a little south of the roundabout, even thought there’s no stop shown on the map.