Hiking Obongsan, Bukhansan

Obongsan (오봉산) is part of the Dobongsan (도봉산) range in Bukhansan National Park. This was my first hike to that peak and I thouroghly enjoyed the landscape and interesting rock formations.

It was a relatively late start for me, I think because it was a little too cloudy for my liking. I got to the Songchu Valley (송추계) entrance of the park around 13:00. You walk past some kind of dog park then through one of the first parking lots, then through a small little complex of buildings (cafe, houses, restaurants) to find the signs for Obong Peak. You’ll eventually find the trailhead. There are a few trails in the area so be sure to follow the signs that take you in a south east direction through forest and on a slight incline. I was using Naver Maps to find the way. There were a few interesting things walking through the forest, namely an odd shaped rock and quite a few cats. There was one main rocky view point amongst the trees, but mostly just forest.

The first main attraction is Yeoseongbong (여성봉) which is a rock with two mounds with a single tree between them. I got there about 14:40 It makes for a good photo. You’re aren’t allowed to walk between the mounds as its a protected area, but you can walk around the side on a wooden walkway to go up behind it and take a closer look. Definitely do that because the views from there to other parts of the park are very good. I scrambled up a bit more and sat with my lunch and marvelled at the view.

Then I continued heading south east through some more forest, past a cat, and another rocky view point.

I reached the first main Obongsan view point at about 15:30. The name simply means ‘five peak mountain’ and you can clearly see the five peaks. There aren’t any official trails going over them and I imagine you’d need a bit of skill and nerves of steel to try! However, they are certainly impressive to look at.

Heading east and about twenty minutes on from there, you get to a radio installation and another peak. This is where you get some of the best views of Obongsan on the trail because it’s higher up and there’s nothing in the way. There were a number of ginger cats resting there. I took a few photos. The air quality was pretty good and the clouds added nice lighting.

After leaving this peak, headed east then north towards the Songchu Valley trail that would eventually take me back to the care park. This part of the trail was forested and featured a few streams and waterfalls. At the end you head west, walking along Songchu stream and back to the bus stop.