Hahoe means something like river-wrapped, and the village earns its name. The Nakdong river makes an S-shaped bend around a sandy spit, and the Ryu clan built a settlement of tile-roofed noble houses and thatched farm cottages inside the curve. It has been continuously lived in for more than five hundred years, and the old layout, with its pine groves, stone walls and narrow lanes, is intact. Together with Yangdong village near Gyeongju, it was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2010 as a model of Joseon-era clan life. Villagers still live here, farm here and run guesthouses, so remember that you are walking through a village, not a stage set.
The cliff across the river, Buyongdae, is the best viewpoint. You cross by a small ferry or take the path through the pines, then climb for a view down onto the whole bend with the village laid out like a map. The village is also home to Hahoe masks, the carved wooden masks used in a traditional dance-drama, with a museum nearby. Visitors are often struck by how comic the masks are, with big jaws and mocking grins aimed at pompous aristocrats. Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1999 on her seventy-third birthday, a fact local guides will mention within a minute of meeting you.
Cars are not allowed into the village itself, so you park at the car park and walk or take a shuttle. Andong, the city about twenty kilometres away, has the fuel, food and everything else, and the roads between are gentle farm country, with tidy rice fields and apple orchards. This is not hardcore riding country, but the bends along the river are pleasant, and the back roads are pretty and quiet.
Try Andong's jjimdak and a bowl of heotjesabap, then a cup of local soju if you are not riding on.
The best seasons are autumn, when the persimmon trees are bright orange, and spring, when the river runs clear. Summer rain can make the lanes muddy, and in winter the river freezes on the edges. Leave early; the day-trippers arrive from mid-morning.