Jirisan National Park is the largest national park in South Korea and boasts the longest continuous ridge trek in the country. This trek is renowned for being completed over three days and two nights. Nevertheless, for hikers or trail runners who prefer a faster pace, a great way to tackle this route is to complete it in one day. I have successfully traversed the ridge this way on one occasion, while I’ve hiked section or the whole ridge but more slowly half a dozen times. This guide/review post will provide an account of my experience hiking it in one day and offer precise instructions on how to undertake this fast-pace trek yourself. I also include information about how to make this hike a 2-day 1-night trip, for an easier time on the trail.

If this trail seems a bit too overwhelming, consider checking out my three other Jirisan hiking guides; (1) Best day hikes in Jirisan and (2) reaching Jirisan’s main peak by public transportation. As well as a slightly longer version of this ridge course but as 3-day 2 -night trip.

Transportation and Lodging

As I can communicate in Korean, I frequently do these sort of courses with a Korean hiking club – which arrange drop off and pick-ups. However, for those without (A) an intermediate or above Korean ability and (B) a Korean bank account, you will need to handle your own logistics. While it may seem intimidating, its overall not that difficult.

Starting point: Seongsam Valley / 성삼재

• I would recommend a PM arrival to the small city Suncheon or the town of Gurae, resting in an accommodation for a couple hours then departing in the early AM. The park opens at 3am/4am [depending on the season], and you need to be starting then to do this as a one-day hike. If you want to tackle this hike in instead 2 days, you still need an early morning departure due to the cut off times in the mid-mountain shelters.

Staying in Suncheon [순천] or Gurea [구례]

Suncheon is farther away but much more connected to public transportation from Seoul through both the KTX and the express bus. Suncheon is a proper little city with all the resources you may need and lots of departure times – allowing for more flexible scheduling. Additionally, there are guaranteed taxis’ near the Suncheon train station [when I lived in Suncheon I did this]. It’s about a 50,000 won taxi ride and takes about 1 hour.

Gurae is immediately south of Jirisan, making it a quicker jump to reach the mountain. Its harder to get to, with less departures from Seoul by express bus. However, there are many places to stay, the below listed advertise internationally. These places can arrange a taxi for you.

Hiking Jirisan

Jirisan Ridgeline Course Overview:

Korean Names: 성삼재휴게소-노고단대피소-노고단고개-피아골삼거리-삼도봉-연하천대피소-벽소령대피소-세석대피소-장터목대피소-천왕봉정상-법계사-중산리탐방안내소-중산리주차장

English Names: Seongsam Valley Rest Stop – Nogodan Shelter – Nogodan Pass – Piagol 3-way intersection – Samdobong Peak – Yeonhacheon Shelter – Byeoksoryeong Shelter – Saeseok Shelter – Jangteomok Shelter – Cheonwangbong Peak – Beobgaesa Temple, Jungsanri Information Office – Jungsanri Parking lot

Ridge hiking isn’t like a regular hike. The points I struggled most were not necessarily the most difficult inclines, because often times its about the accumulative efforts, as opposed to a straight incline you can power through until the top. The worst climb for me in the ridge is consistently the incline that ends at the 10km mark – 토끼봉. It’s not nearly as long as the first climb, but it is conistently where I hate it the most – a close second is the stupid rocky section before Byeoksoryeong Shelter.

The most beautiful section runs between Saeseok Shelter and the the main peak, Cheonwangbong Peak. In order for this section not to be lost to the darkness is part of the reason this course is hiked west to east – and it’s also less elevation gain.

Starting point: Seongsam Valley

This course is not the official full Jirisan ridge trail [지리산 화대종주] – the difference lies in the starting point and end point. The Seongsam valley [성삼재] is significantly higher in elevation and closer to the first peak than the Hwaamsa Temple [화암사] starting point, making the trail slightly shorter with a lot less elevation gain in the beginning. Although there are some trail runners that can start at the temple, if you are hiking it is not possible to start here. This is because there are cut off times along the ridge at the shelters. The mid-ridge shelters will not allow you to continue to hike past them after 1-2pm, which means you will end up trapped on the mountain until the following morning. But if you don’t have a reservation at a shelter, trapped may mean you will need to hike down and out of the national park for the day.

All the hike clubs start at Seongsam Valley [성삼재] and end at at Jungsanri [중산리], making this course 성중종주. As you may have picked up, the name of the course is a combination of the first character of the names of the starting and end point. Jungsanri is an excellent ending point because there are buses and taxis that can bring you to the city of Jinju [진주] which is well connected to Seoul and other major cities by express bus.

The Hike: 3am to 3pm

Starting at 3am at Seongsam valley I departed and traversed the 2.8km to Nogodan Gouge Pass, arriving 35 minutes later. Nogodan Peak is the main attraction in this section of the park, but requires a reservation on the KNPS website to visit. Though you can only apply to enter between 5am and 4pm – and is a needless detour when hiking this long course. However, if you do the two days it may be worth coming here for sunrise. I cover Nogodan in my top day trip Jirisan guide

5:30am Sunrise

Along the trail you pass the turn off point from the peak Banyabong, which is a separate 1.2km there and back detour. That peak is noteworthy as it is on the 100 mountain challenge. It’s worth going to that peak if you are doing a 2-day trek of the ridgeline.

The other noteworthy point is the below iron triangle, named Samdobong [삼도봉], which represents the point at which 3 provinces intersection. Jirisan National Park lies within the 3 provinces of Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do, and this is the official point that marks the division.

6:00am Arriving at Yeonhacheon Shelter

Nothing in the region is as high as the Jirisan ridge line, so views to the north and south appear as rolling hills.

The shelters which you are allowed to apply to stay at, tend to be spread out across the ridge line situated atop oven areas with sweeping or nice views from the ridgeline and surrounding area. The exception being Yeonghacheon Shelter, which while still on the ridge is in the forest and has more of cabin in the woods vibe. It’s also much cooler here.

Though you would have struggled up 토끼봉(rabbit peak), the section of the trail leading up to this shelter and immediately after it, is by far the easiest section of the ridge.

6:50am Breakfast at Byeoksoryeong Shelter

I have previously promoted (not sponsored) these self-heating meals. And Jirisan is one of the best mountain to eat them on. This is because you can buy water at all the shelters, so you don’t need to worry about running short of water in order to prepare this meal. As a coffee addict, Red bull is a decent subistute, especially if you want to absorb that crazy red bull sport energy. You can cook inside the shelters, so if you want to bring a butane cooker you can.

If you want to hike this trail in two days, Byeoksoryeong shelter or Saeseok shelter are the ones I recommend you book. This is because it would allow you to get quite some distance into the hike without having to hike too fast. Since the mid-mountain shelters have time cut off at 1/2pm, if you want to stay in Jangteomok shelter you have to still go at a fast pace.

5 am is the morning departure time from the mid-mountain shelters. If your goal is to see the sunrise on the peak only Jangteomok Shelter is close enough for you to reach the peak for the sunrise. But the sunrise is pretty nice in other locations as well. I have stayed in Saeseok shelter previously, departed at 5am and was able to take some nice sunrise pictures.

9:30am Arriving at Saeseok Shelter

Fueled by a meal and energy drink, we hiked past Saeseok shelter – stopping only briefly to get my credit photo for the Baekdudaegan Ridge Challenge with Blackyak.

Between Saeseok and Jangteomok Shelter my friend began to really struggle and I ended up waiting for them for 40 minutes. I was waiting at a very beautiful section (above right most photo), so I wasn’t complaining. I have found that for trails this long and intense, that in the second half its best not to hike on top of each other – so each person can succeed at a pace that works best for them.

We did not stop at Jangteomok Shelter and continued onward. Jangteomok shelter is where the trail gets more populated, as you meet up with the people just hiking the main peak. My favorite section of the whole hike is the short section between Jangteomok Shelter and the Cheonwangbong Peak. It’s not particularly difficult, and offers unobstructed views in many sections. It can be incredibly windy here and is mostly sun exposed.

12:50pm Arriving at the Cheonwangbong Peak

Be prepared to wait a while to take your picture at the summit stone. I did this hike in mid-may, so we were able to see some of the flowers, and luckily it was an exceptionally clear day.

3pm Finished the hike and arrived at a restaurant for lunch (거북이산장식당)

The downhill will wreck your knees. We powered through and descended in about 2 hours. You pass by a shelter which also has a bathroom and sells water. At the bottom its another 1-2km to get to the parking lot area where you can catch a bus to Jinju. I detail the bus options in my jirisan public transportation guide. In that same guide I detail the course to Jungsanri, which we hiked down on this day.

We opted to have lunch at 거북이산장식당, as we had arrived 3 hour prior to our hiking club buses departure time. You can’t beat makgollie and mountain vegetable bibimbap after a long day on the mountain!

Happy Trekking!

-Aurora