Driving around Haenam; reeds to mountains, cliffs and beaches

Today, I drove from Mokpo to Haenam for a look around. I saw floodplains, went to a mountain top, and explored cliffs and beaches!

Day 2 of a 3-day trip to Mokpo, Jindo, and Haenam.

Gocheon Reed Fields

I started off early and collected my SOCAR from Mokpo train station, and headed straight to Haenam. I’d heard there were vast fields of reeds on flood plains at Gocheon (고천암갈대밭). Photos I’d seen of the area looked gorgeous, but when I got there, the lush green reeds had all been harvested! There was still a somewhat bleak beauty to the area, though, and I spent a while walking around. I’d love to come back when it’s lush and green. I also took a quick walk around the Eco Park (고천암자연생태공원).

Duryunsan Mountain Cable Car

Next, I drove Duryunsan Mountain cable car (두륜산 케이블카). The cable car takes you to Gogyebong peak (고계봉). You can see for miles all around. Being February, the landscape was mainly brown and yellow. Also, the air quality wasn’t great, but it was still worth going up for the views.

Back at the car park was a weird ‘King Kong’ thing that looked like two broccolis! Of course I went inside, and of course it was a space walk theme/photo zone(!).

Cafe 4est and Forest Arboretum

I decided to head south and sea some see. On the way, I stopped at Cafe 4est for a drink before exploring Forest Arboretum (포레스트수목원), the garden/park that was attached. I wasn’t planning on paying and going in, but a woman who worked there said to just go in and she encouraged her dog (a cute jindo, that was running around freely and happily) to go with me. It turned out to be quite big and quite interesting. There were many little themed sections, basically for Instagram shots! The garden was interesting and peaceful though and I enjoyed walking around.

Ttangkkeut Monorail and monument

I drove down to the southern tip of Haenam to Ttangkkeut Monorail (땅끝모노레일). I went up and hiked down! At the top is a monument and then a trail down to the rocky coast. I walked all the way back to the car and then set off back in the direction of Mokpo.

Beaches

I stopped at a few beach areas on the way back to Mokpo. The first was Songho Beach (땅끝송호해수욕장). It was a long, beautiful beach with lots of accommodation nearby. Probably a popular Haenam resort area. A few minute’s drive north of that, there was a beach with fishing boats, and a small island out to sea called Jugdo (죽도). It was a very pleasant, peaceful view with only the sounds of water lapping at the shoreline. In low tide, I think you can walk out to the island.

That was it for Haenam. There’s obviously a lot more to see, and I’d like to visit in a warmer season. While driving to the coastal area, I noticed a few good hiking spots, including a long ridgeline hike called Haenam Dalmagodo (해남달마고도). A promising hike for another trip.

Grilled mackerel, cocktail

Back at Mokpo, I parked up the car and went for some grilled mackerel at Omega (어미가). It was really good.

I went to Wondosim (원도심) next, and drank an Old Fashioned. This was a cocktail bar I’d noticed on my last trip to Mokpo. Inside was cosy and consisted of a single counter running up the length of the bar. It was quite busy, surprisingly, but I got a seat on the end.

Then I had a beer on the roof of the accommodation before bed. After going to bed, a group of noisy people arrived and wow, were they noisy. Walking, chatting, up and down the stairs… oh well, I was tired enough to sleep. Some daylight photos of my accommodation below.