Day 5 ¡ª Seoul / Mt. Seoraksan National Park
Today, we journey to Mt. Seoraksan National Park, this northern stretch of Korea's eastern coast, which is rugged and mountainous with breathtaking scenery making it the "Alps of Asia", and give this area an unparalleled popularity with the dense forests bordering crystal clear streams, tumbling over cataracts and dropping from precipices to form fleecy waterfalls, as well as awesome saw tooth cliffs spiraling into the blue skies. Explore Mt. Seoraksan National Park with visits to Sinheungsa Temple-established in 653 A.D., claims to be the country's oldest Zen Buddhist temple, and it would be the oldest existing Zen temple in the world£»Cheonbuldong Valley-the most visually stimulating valley in the park£»and Biseondae (Flying Fairy Rock)-a wide, flat rock surface where the river rapids drain into a crystal clear pool and a peak rises majestically above the valley, one hears many legends of the heavenly nymphs who come to laugh and play while they bathes in the placid pools of the many glens hidden from human eyes. Overnight at a hotel at the foot of Mt. Seoraksan.
Day 6 ¡ª Mt. Seoraksan National Park / Gyeongju
Today, travel to Gyeongju - where was the capital of the Silla Dynasty from 57 B.C. to 935 A.D. and designated by UNESCO as one of the world's ten most historically significant sites with numerous relics of that era, and is called the "Museum Without Walls"-along the crystal east coast. Visit Gyeongju National Museum, which has the best collection of Silla Dynasty artifacts with more than 100,000 pieces. Overnight in Gyeongju.
Day 7 ¡ª Gyeongju / Haeinsa Temple
A morning tour of Gyeongju includes Bulguksa Temple - originally constructed in 535 A.D., the most frequented and best-known temple in Korea, was added to UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List in 1995£»Bunhwangsa Pagoda - erected in 634, is considered, with Cheomseongdae, one of the country's two oldest stone structures, and the pagoda was originally 9 stories high, only 3 remain today£»Anapji Pond-constructed in 674 A.D. as a pleasure garden to commemorate the unification of the peninsula by the Silla forces, used the recreational area for the Silla royal family and banquet garden to entertain royal important guests£»Cheomseongdae Astronomical Observatory-built in 634 A.D., is considered the world's earliest known existing observatory and admired by archaeologists worldwide£»and Royal Tumuli Park-a collection of royal Silla tombs located in the middle of Gyeongju with 20 tombs, of which Cheonmachong (Flying Horse Tomb) is the most famous with its excavation which yielded more than 10,000 treasure-artifacts.
Drive to Haeinsa Temple, which is one of the three greatest temples of Korea, established in 803 A.D., chiefly known today as the repository of the Tripitaka Koreana, set of over 80,000 wooden printing blocks engraved with one of the most comprehensive compilations of the Buddhist scriptures in all of Asia, and the Depositories and the Tripitaka Koreana Wooden Printing Blocks were added to UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List in 1995. Overnight at a hotel in the temple village.
Day 8 ¡ª Haeinsa Temple / Busan
This morning drive to Busan. A tour of Busan includes Beomeosa Temple which is located at the edge of a famous Geumjeongsan mountain in Busan. Busan's greatest temple, Beomeosa translates as "Fish of the Buddhist Scripture Temple". Beomeosa Temple was founded in 678 AD by monk Uisang during the reign of King Munmu of Silla Dynasty and most of the present buildings date from reconstructions of the 17th and 18th centuries, representative of mid Joseon Dynasty temple architecture£»Daeungjeon Main Building of the Beomeosa Temple which was rebuilt during Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and is one of the most delicate and luxurious architectures of Joseon Dynasty£»Iljumun of the Beomeosa Temple- the three story pagoda with four pillars, built in the 9th century, and seven royal palace wings, pavilions, three gates, and eleven hermitages (natural monument)£»Mt. Geumjeongsan Fortress is located on the peak of Mt. Geumjeongsan (801.5m) in Busan. Its original name was Dongrae Mountain Fortress, but it was changed because of its location. Its length is 17,377m, and 1.5m~3m high; it is the largest fortress in Korea. But now there is only a 4 km section remaining from the original.£»Kukje Market - Kukje Market is one of the largest traditional markets in Korea with various goods in store.
All products are sold at affordable prices and the stores in this area also function as a wholesale markets£»Taejongdae Seaside Cliff Park-the scenery of rugged cliffs dropping straight down to the sea is breathtaking, along with a panoramic sea view from the Park, overlooking the Korean Strait - on a very clear day you can even see the Japanese island of Tsushima on the horizon to the southeast£»and UN Memorial Cemetery where the Korean War (1950-53) dead from the sixteen UN allies rest in honored serenity and is the unique one in its kind in the world. Evening to Busan center. Walking in front of the sea and take the fantastic views of the Great Bridge of Busan which is 7.4 km long and the longest bridge in Korea over the sea, and walk on the night streets and enjoys the views. Overnight in Busan.
Day 9 ¡ª Busan / Tongyeong Harbor-Hallyeo Maritime National Park / Busan
A morning tour of Busan includes Yongdusan Park, where provides a pleasant touch of greenery on a hill in the heart of the city and a very popular public park with Busan Tower£»Busan Tower - Yongdusan Park crowned with the tower, 120-m-high tower observatory dominates the most of the area of the city, and the sea and harbor views spreading below the tower are spectacular£»and Jagalchi Fish Market-Busan's most active fish-dealers' cooperative, the colorful spectacle is also a great attraction for tourists and camera buffs.
Drive to Tongyeong Harbor, where has the most extensive ferry network between Busan and Yeosu, and is home port for one of the largest concentrations of fishing and sightseeing boats on the southern coast. Take a sightseeing boat at Tongyeong Harbor and a full-day tour of Hallyeo Maritime National Park - stretches across 400 islands along the southern coast, and it is a 93-mile-long waterway running from Hansando Island where Admiral Yi Sun-sin defeated Japanese invaders by his own invented Turtle Boat, south of Busan, to Yeosu in the west, where, with islands dotted here and there, is sometimes mistaken for a lake and it is divided into six sections and has both stunning natural scenery and many sites of historical interest. * Sightseeing boat tour of Hallyeo Maritime National Park is subject to cancel according to the bad weather. This afternoon will be left for leisure or an improvised trip which you may arrange. Drive back to Busan. Overnight in Busan.
Day 10 ¡ª Busan / Boseong / Gwangju / Gochang / Gwangju
Travel to Boseong where the largest tea-growing area in Korea is. Known as the birthplace of Korea¡¯s tea industry, it accounts for around 40% of domestic tea production. Visit beautiful Tea Terraces in Boseong. Drive to Gwangju, where is the capital of Jeollanam-do Province and the sixth largest city in the Republic of Korea, with a population of 1.2 million. Visit Gwangju National Museum, which was built to house the precious Chinese porcelains that were salvaged in 1976 from a Chinese trading ship wrecked at Sinan 600 years ago, and the museum also displays relics and paintings from the Baekje and Unified Silla Dynasties and the Joseon Dynasty. Continue to Gochang Dolmen Site. Sightseeing of Gochang Dolmen Site- a neatly arranged, highly-raised dolmen is placed beside the jar stand lying behind Kim Yeong-in¡¯s home in Jidong, Dosan-ri which is 4km away from Gochang-eup.
3km toward Seonunsa, a 2km range of dolmens lie at Sanggap-ri, Asan-myeon, Jungrim-ri, Gochang-eup, Maesan-ri and Songam-ri. Beginning with the 5m length, 4.5m wide, 4m high and 150 ton dolmen, all 477 dolmens are numbered with white paint. Archaeologists date the Gochang dolmens back to the Bronze Age. Drive back to Gwangju.
Overnight in Gwangju.
Day 11 ¡ª Gwangju / Seoul
Drive back to Seoul, passing the rolling, green countryside and clusters of unique tiled houses.
Free afternoon in Seoul. Overnight in Seoul.
Day 12 ¡ª Seoul / Depart Korea
Transfer to Incheon International Airport for departure. |