Baegundae (백운대) is one of the main peaks of Bukhansan mountain. I wasn’t sure if I’d been before due to not really paying much attention during my first few years of hiking in Korea!

I started at the fortress entrance to the park (Bukhansanseong) and walked east along Bukhansancheon stream (북한산천). There was a nice amount of water flowing and there was evidence of ice from before, but not right at that moment. There were some interesting rocks along the trail before I got to the first part of ‘the up’ as I’m going to call it from now…

It got steeper as I got away from the stream and I was soon feeling very small looking up tall, sheer rock faces. The trail is well used and in good condition and there are some stepped parts. There is also a trails leading south at one point, and a main intersection at Baegunbongammun gate (백운봉암문) which is the intersection that takes you to north and up to Baegundae peak or further east to Uidong (우이동).

The next section is quite tough; it’s up, up, up. There are lots of steel railings at this point and a few steps. Also, due to the foot traffic, a lot of the rock has smoothed somewhat, so even without ice, it can be a bit slippery; be careful! The views are great though, and it’s no wonder why people stay up here and picnic for a bit. Looking around, you can see parts of Seoul and there’s wide plataeu area fro relaxing a bit. The peak has a few friendly kittens walking about. The actual peak has a flag and some friendly hikers took a picture of me. I rested myself with a snack and disappointed a kitty by not giving them food…

I head back the way I came, taking it easy over the slippery surfaces. The walk back along the stream was as pleasant. At the park entrance area, I explored a little and found a fiew restaurants and a coffee shop I want to try later (Bukhansan Play). However, on this occasion, I took a few photos and then went to a camping and hiking shop. They had some pretty good deals on backpacks so I need to consider upgrading.

All in all, a nice hike. I think I’ll try coming in from an eastern route next time, or perhaps another way in from the west as a friend of mine did recently.

Thanks to the AllTrail user who posted this trail; it’s pretty much the route I took, starting at the Bukhansanseong (fortress) entrance: