DAY 2 OF OUR 3-DAY ROAD TRIP

We went to a beautiful set of streams and falls easily accessible from the road. The place is Yongso Falls (용소폭포) on a road south of Seoraksan but still in the national park, on a stream called Osaekcheon (오색천). The road was windy and hilly and we passed a few interesting restaurants on the way which we noted for later.

Parking was fine even though the entrance was on a blind bend! There was no fee to enter, so we heading to the trail head and walked down; always a pleasant surprise, to go down rather than up to a waterfall! The trail soon got to a mountain stream and we could see immediately how clean and clear it was.

We almost stopped to paddle at the first place suitable for putting down our mat, but luckily I checked on ahead for a bit. Romana joined me when I sent back a photo of what was further down; actual waterfalls, bridges and canyons! Epic looking scenery indeed!

We wandered down marvelling at the high rocky sides, nice bridges, the blue-green waters, and the sounds of rushing water. We wished we could get in and cool off, but the trail was too far up at this point.

A bit further down we managed to go through a bush and some big boulders, and were suddenly next to the waters. There was a pool where the water was relatively still and the sides were flat enough for a mat. It was hidden from the trail too, so we decided to paddle there and relax. I went all the way into the very cold water and we spotted fish and spent some time trying to entice them towards us.

After an hour or so, we headed a bit further down the trail over a few more bridges. We could look back to where we’d been resting and also see more of the steep mountain sides of this valley. This trail is actually part of a longer trail I’d like to try someday.

Places visited this trip: