Gloriously wide summit of Sapaesan, Bukhansan, then Opin Bakery 사패산

This amazing, grand expanse of a peak is in the north of Bukhansan National Park. It’s quite an easy hike and not too high, with a great pay-off.

My route started from the Angol entrance to the park (북한산국립공원 안골지구). Walk south along Angol stream (안골계곡), quite a way until you get to a left turn with a sign to Sapaesan; there are a few left turns and this is the last one (I recommend using Naver Maps to help you – turn on the hiking trail layer!). Along the way are a few temples, a stream, and some very run-down looking buildings. I took a few pics of colourful flowers with old cement walls behind them.

Soon after that, take a right turn to get on the main trail to the peak. It’s quite straight forward. There you’ll come across a few impressive boulders. The photos below were taken on this hike and one the following year (2023). I’ve seen this thing where hikers wedge sticks under the boulder to make it look like it’s holding it up; I don’t know if this is some gag or has any other significance. Often you will also see stack of small rocks that hikers put up, too. Perhaps this is just a thing people do because other people have done it.

The peak itself is one you go up to then retrace your steps to come back (same as you do on Baegundae). There a a few ways up, some with handrails, others with rope. They’re not difficult at all. The amazing this about this peak is that it’s quite flat and seems to go on forever. You can walk all the way to the opposite end and start walking quite a way down a moderate slope before your nerves tell you to stop! I took quite a long break and ate my packed lunch. I stayed for almost an hour, not because I needed the rest, but because of the location! The views across the valley are great, too. On this day, however, it was quite hazy. The last two photos here were taken in 2023.

Coming off the peak, I turned headed south east, then you can choose to take the first or second right turn to choose a route west back to the main road. The first one is shorter, and the second one will take you along a long valley and past some waterfalls and an area with restaurants and cafes.

My snowy AllTrails recording from January 15, 2024:

OPIN Bakery Cafe

To relax, I looked for the nearest cafe that looked like it had a decent food selection. OPIN Bakery (오핀 베이커리) is pretty big and had a large window looking over to Bukhansan. There’s also a roof terrace which is where I sat with my sweet pastry and hand drip coffee. Very pleasant!