With Alligator Peak set to become a legal hiking trail in the second half of 2023 (date to be announced but expected September/October), I wanted to share with you this amazing day trip combo! Perfect for a fall trip this year or a spring adventure in 2024!
Jump to -> The Alligator Peak Hike
The Lazy Caiman Cafe!
This cafe is a fantastic stop if you are A) hiking Woraksan, B) hiking Jaebibong (제비봉), C) traveling to Danyang, or D) doing the Alligator peak hike combo!
While Alligator peak is better known online, the Lazy Caiman cafe is worth a stop by itself!
For context of this cafe’s quality: the boyfriend drove us 30 minutes out of the way just to stop at this cafe because he is obsessed with the baked goods here after our first trip. Bf’s rating: 4.5/5
Address:
게으른악어 -> 충북 충주시 살미면 월악로 927
Lazy Caiman -> 927 work-ro, salmi-myron, chungju-si, chungcheongbuk-do
- Naver Maps: https://naver.me/Gt9eLDc3
- Kakao Maps: http://kko.to/TuZeVaLTgG
- Waze: https://waze.com/ul/hwye41cc8x
It’s about an 1 hour 45 minute drive from Camp Humphreys and about a 2 hour drive from Seoul.
Hours:
- 10am – 7pm (Monday – Friday)
- 9am – 8pm (Saturday & Sunday)
Public Transportation:
From Chungju Station or bus terminal, bus 222 leaves at 8am and 10:50, ride the bus until Worak Narudeo bus stop (월악나루터). This stop is after the cafe and requires either you asking the bus driver to stop at the cafe or walk back 3km. Tell the bus driver ‘악어봉 카페 /‘aak-o-bong’ cafe.
Or to time one of the opposite direct buses listed below (bus 222 departs this bus stop heading to the cafe at at 9:10 and 12:05pm). If you take the 8am bus from the station, you arrive at this bus stop at 9am, and the 222 in the opposite direction arrives 10 minutes later.
It’s a 45 minute bus ride. The cafe is rurally located, so while taxis are an easy option to get there, you are unlikely to get one for the return journey.
The bus stop returning to the city of Chungju is out front of the cafe. Bus 612 departs the cafe at 13:15, bus 221 departs at 15:30, bus 222 departs at 9:35, 12:30, 18:20, 21:15*. * doesn’t bring you to the subway or bus terminal, but gets you downtown.
Review and Description:
This cafe doubles as both a lovely place to get coffee & snacks as well as the parking lot for the Alligator Peak hike – so it’s a very convenient one-stop day trip.
Their parking lot is pretty extensive, but gets crazy on the weekends. Of the three times I’ve been there, twice there have been major food sell outs by 11:30-12 and once there was significant parking chaos.
So, it’s worth getting there a little bit early!
There are various seating options with the best views being the tables on the most left side with the water view.
Seating is competitive, so be prepared to pounce!
Our first trip ~ We went in autumn and did the combo hiking of Woraksan’s main peak (Sat) and stopping by Lazy Caiman Cafe (Sunday). We ordered two of the recommended Chocolate Baum, the Brunch Egg Set with an Americano and an iced mocha.
It was pretty fire once we secured this prime seating.
There is additional seating inside as well as near the parking area under the trees – so there is no shortage of spots to relax
They offer both a selection of desserts as well as some proper food options for reasonable prices.
Food Recommendations:
The Regular Baums (5 Stars)
- 6 flavors (Chocolate, green tea, strawberry, cheese, custard and caramel)
- ^ *chocolate & strawberry were the best*
- 2,900 won per
- they offer take out boxes for sets of 4, 6 and 10.
브런치에그세트 (The Brunch Egg Set) (4 Stars)
- Waffle, 2 sausages, small salad and your choice of egg + americano (iced or hot)
- 18,000 won
The Camping Ramen Experience (haven’t done it yet but looked cool)
Rent a burner & a pot, and get wood chopstick, a paper cup, 2 liters of water & 1 pack of ramen for 5,000 won.
Just put it in the provided basket and bring it to the cashier (skipping the chaos that can be the one machine ordering line!)
Additional ramen (4,000 won), Kimchi (2,500 won), water 2 liter (1,000), egg (500 won) and instant rice/햇반 (1,500) is available to purchase.
(sort of obvious) but you have to cook the ramen outside!
Additionally they offer
- 누텔라 오레오 (Nutella oreo waffle with ice cream): 14,000 won
- 3단 아이스크림 크로플 (Three layers of ice cream Croffle) 14,000 won
- 바움쿠헨 – The german split cake, Baumkuchen in the three flavors: Fondant on cream cheese (5,800 won), Fondant on chocolate(5,800 won), custard cream (3,500 won)
- Cakes – Carrot Cake (6,300 won), Strawberry crepe (6,500 won) & Baumkuchen roll (18,000 won)
Alligator Peak
The Trail and Views
It’s expected that this short trail should be open to the public as a normal hiking course in about September/October of 2023.
The Course is
- Beginner friendly
- Family friendly
- Instagram worthy
- A bit intense at parts (elevation wise)
- Proper hiking or good athletic shoes recommended
While the course is only 0.9km one-way, 1.8km round trip, it’s quite steep and is surprisingly difficult considering the elevation and length. But its overall very manageable and not a major undertaking. If you have an hour to spare it’s worth the hike up to the peak!
The peak gets its name from the bit of land shaped like the head of a gater to the left of my hand in the above picture. I had a little fun on photo editor making the eye and teeth of the alligator for the title images. But to be honest I think its less of an alligator look alike and more of a beautiful lake view
If you want to see a real alligator island you need to go to Taiwan ~ I grabbed this photo online and I think it’s on the bucket list now!
But back to South Korea’s Alligator peak~
Hiking in April or May has the peak covered in flowers, adding a little extra beauty!
Truthfully there isn’t much to say about this trail, as its without views until the near peak and mostly straight up hill.
If you are going at a slower pace it’s about 30 minutes to the peak, and a bit less to come down – making for about a 1 hour excursion.
Once the trail opens up for legal hiking, prepare for the high number of people gathered at the peak. Ideal start time to avoid the crowds based of other instagram hikes in the areas (like Jaebibong) is between 9-10am. Starting later means fighting with cafe goers for parking, hotter weather and more people on the trail.
The History and Current Status of the Alligator Peak
In 2010, a photo of the peak won a local photo contest, shortly after gaining much attention online and inspiring others to make the climb. With no other tourists sites in this section of the river, the Chungju City Tourism Department applied to the Ministry of Environment for the opening of the Alligator Peak as an official tourist destination but it was rejected for the dangerous curve in the road at the start of the trail.
Over the last decade, despite the fees hanging over the head of hikers, Alligator Peak has been a highly frequented spot much to the chagrin of the Korean National Park Service (KNPS). The KNPS stated that over the course of three years (2019-2022) they have caught 337 illegal hikers, each handing them a fine of at least 200,000 won ($160). But even with the large banners at the start of the trail and along its course threatening fines for those caught, it hasn’t stopped the hikers – with numerous posts daily on instagram of people making the climb, tagging its location and using #악어봉. In the hour I sat at the Caiman cafe in the fall of 2022, I saw nearly two dozen people enter the trail. It has been in part due to the failure of the KNPS to stop hikers, that the KNPS announced in 2021 their plan to improve the trail conditions and turn the illegal trail into a proper Woraksan National Park Trail.
Since 2021, the trail has been under construction and remains illegal to hike – but that will be changing soon! It was reported in January of this year, that staircases and an observatory platform have been built (which are clearly visible in all the recent illegal hiking instagram posts haha), with a pedestrian bridge at the entrance under construction. It’s expected that this 0.9km will open after the completion of this bridge . It’s expected that this short trail should be open to the public as a normal hiking course in about September/October of 2023.
Happy Trekking!
-Aurora K
