A saunter back in time through Silla Namsan
Length: 2 days 1 night
Area: Namsan, Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do about 4 hours by express train from Seoul City
Theme: Culture Hiking Mountain Trail
Subject: Cultural and Buddhist Religious relics of the Silla Dynasty (57BC-935AD)
Costs: Price includes meals and temple accommodation – does not include transportation cost outside Gyeongju City.
Group costs: 1person 500USD, 2 persons 650USD, 3 persons 800USD, 4 persons 1000USD.
Namsan is part of the old Silla (57BC-935AD) capital of Korea of which it spent the period between 652 and 935 as the United Silla Kingdom of Korea. The area is now a UNESCO world heritage site.
Namsan is the name of the small but mountainous area that is part of the Gyeongju National Park area in Gyeongsangbuk-do, southeast Korea. It covers about 8 x 12kms and has some 180 peaks. The peaks are open topped summits with the highest being Nam-san at 494m. Namsan is a warren of old trails that were once used by Buddhist practitioners and monks to visit temples and carve many of the great Buddhist relief carvings and pagodas that exist in this wonderful area. These days about 80 carved reliefs, about 60 stone pagodas and remains of about 100 temples and palaces mostly built between the 7th and 10th century remains, 12 of these relics are designated national treasures. Namsan is also full of many old Silla Folk legends and when walking along the many trails that are scattered all over this amazing outdoor museum of Korean mountain culture and history, one can get a strong feeling of what this place must have been like some 1000 to 2000 years ago.
Hike Korea would love to take you on a two day exploration of this wonderful area where we can discover hidden cultural relics from the past. Many of the less visited relics are off the beaten track. This wonderful walk will include a sleep over at a mountain hermitage that has some amazing Buddhist relics to be observed. At this temple you will be required to follow early Morning Prayer procedure followed by a session of meditation. However, we also have the option of walking up to the nearby mountain top to observe a spectacular mountain sunrise over the eastern horizon as it lights up an amazing Buddhist relief carving in front of us.
This is one cultural hike that you really should do if visiting Korea.
