Why this ride
A 400 km round trip from Gyeongju - roughly 5 h 55 in the saddle. The stops in between: Tongdosa Temple, Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli, Gaya Tumuli and Daeseong-dong Tumuli. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gyeongju day out · Daeseong-dong Tumuli
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 400 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 55
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Gyeongju
For almost a thousand years, from 57 BC to AD 935 by the traditional count, Gyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom, and the city still behaves like a place that remembers it. The old centre is flat and green and quiet, with the great grass-covered burial mounds of Silla kings and queens rising among the houses and shops like a row of soft hills. Nothing in the city is allowed to climb too high, which keeps the skyline low and lets the mountains behind it stay visible.
Read the complete Gyeongju write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gyeongju is where the day begins. Next is Tongdosa Temple.
2. Tongdosa Temple
Most Korean Buddhist temples have a statue of the Buddha in their main hall. Tongdosa does not. Instead, a window behind the altar looks out onto a stone stupa that is said to contain relics of the historical Buddha, brought back from China by the monk Jajang, who founded the temple in 646. That makes Tongdosa one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea, representing the Buddha himself, alongside Haeinsa, representing the teaching, and Songgwangsa, the community of monks. It is part of the UNESCO-listed Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea, inscribed in 2018.
Read the complete Tongdosa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tongdosa Temple comes up about 49 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.
3. Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
The rounded grassy mounds rising behind Changnyeong look almost like natural hills until you notice how regular they are. These are the Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong tumuli, burial mounds of the rulers of Bihwa, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula between roughly the first and sixth centuries before being absorbed by Silla. In 2023 they became part of a UNESCO listing that brings together seven Gaya tomb clusters, and they are among the most atmospheric of the group.
Read the complete Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 128 km into the recorded legs you reach Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli. Next is Gaya Tumuli.
4. Gaya Tumuli
Right in the middle of Gimhae, a busy city just west of Busan, a low ridge of grassy mounds rises between apartment blocks and roads. These are the Daeseong-dong tumuli, the burial ground of the rulers of Geumgwan Gaya, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula from the first centuries AD until it was absorbed by Silla in the sixth century. In 2023 a group of Gaya burial sites, including these, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Read the complete Gaya Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gaya Tumuli, about halfway. Next is Daeseong-dong Tumuli.
5. Daeseong-dong Tumuli
The tumuli of Daeseong-dong lie on a low hill above the Gimhae plain, close to the Nakdong river delta in the south-east of Korea. They are the royal cemetery of Geumgwan Gaya, one of the small kingdoms of the Gaya confederacy, which flourished alongside the better-known Three Kingdoms of the Korean peninsula, and for centuries after it was swallowed up by its neighbour Silla in 532, it was largely forgotten. Archaeology has changed that. Excavations show a wealthy society, strong on iron, which was exported to Japan and to the Chinese colonies to the north, and the burials contain armour, horse gear, pottery and iron ingots that served almost as currency. UNESCO listed the Gaya Tumuli in 2023.
Read the complete Daeseong-dong Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Daeseong-dong Tumuli sits at 193 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gaya Tumuli.
6. back through Gaya Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gaya Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Gaya Tumuli comes up about 204 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli.
7. back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 275 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli. Next is back through Tongdosa Temple.
8. back through Tongdosa Temple
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tongdosa Temple write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tongdosa Temple, late in the day. Next is Gyeongju.
9. Gyeongju
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gyeongju write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 400 km.
Leg by leg
Gyeongju to Tongdosa Temple
Gyeongju → Tongdosa Temple is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tongdosa Temple to Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
Tongdosa Temple → Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli is 79 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli to Gaya Tumuli
Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli → Gaya Tumuli is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gaya Tumuli to back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli
back through Gaya Tumuli → back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli is 71 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli to back through Tongdosa Temple
back through Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli → back through Tongdosa Temple is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Tongdosa Temple to Gyeongju
back through Tongdosa Temple → Gyeongju is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.