Why this ride
A 172 km round trip from Jeju City - roughly 3 h 49 in the saddle. The stops in between: Hallasan Natural Reserve, Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2 and Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jeju afternoon · Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 172 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 49
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Jeju Island Coastal Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 32 km this is Jeju Island Coastal Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
- Named road
- Jeju Island Coastal Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Jeju
Jeju is a volcanic island off the south coast of Korea, and everything on it is shaped by that fact. Hallasan, the central cone and the highest mountain in South Korea, rises to about 1,950 metres and is visible from nearly every corner of the island on a clear day, and the whole land slopes from it to the sea in long, easy lines. Jeju City, on the north coast, is the main gateway, with an airport that ranks among the busiest in the world and a harbour with ferry links to the mainland.
Read the complete Jeju write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jeju is where the day begins. Next is Hallasan Natural Reserve.
2. Hallasan Natural Reserve
Hallasan rises from the middle of Jeju like a shield laid face-up on the sea. At 1,947 metres it is the highest mountain in South Korea, a massive shield volcano with a crater lake at the top, called Baengnokdam, and a ring of smaller cones on its flanks, perhaps three hundred in all, which the islanders call oreum. The upper slopes were declared a nature reserve and are part of the World Heritage listing of the island's volcanoes and lava tubes. Camellias, Korean fir, azaleas and a great variety of mosses grow in layers by altitude, and in winter the summit is under snow, a surprise on an island with palm trees at its coast.
Read the complete Hallasan Natural Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hallasan Natural Reserve comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes.
3. Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes
Jeju is a volcano that has decided to be an island. Rising from the sea about ninety kilometres south of the Korean mainland, it is crowned by Hallasan, an extinct volcano of 1,947 metres, the highest peak in South Korea, with a crater lake at the top and a skirt of about three hundred smaller cones scattered across the landscape. UNESCO listed the island's volcanic landscapes and lava tubes in 2007, and the combination of black basalt, green fields and blue sea is the island's signature.
Read the complete Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 81 km into the recorded legs you reach Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes. Next is Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2.
4. Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2
Underneath the green hills on the north side of Jeju run some of the longest lava tubes in the world, and Manjanggul is the best known. When the volcano of Geomunoreum erupted, in the distant past, rivers of molten rock flowed north toward the sea, and as the surface cooled and hardened, the liquid inside drained away, leaving long hollow tunnels. The Manjanggul tube runs for more than seven kilometres, and the section open to visitors, about a kilometre, is vast, wide enough for a bus and as tall as a house.
Read the complete Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2, about halfway. Next is Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1.
5. Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1
Under the northeastern slopes of Jeju there is a hollow world made by fire. Geomunoreum is a small volcanic cone, one of the hundreds that dot the island's flanks, and in the long prehistory of the island it spilled lava that ran downhill in rivers. The surface of each flow cooled and hardened while the molten rock inside kept moving, and when it finally drained away it left long empty tunnels. The Geomunoreum lava tube system, a family of caves including Manjanggul, Gimnyeonggul and others, is among the finest in the world, and it is the core of the Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes World Heritage site, inscribed in 2007.
Read the complete Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 sits at 55 km, about halfway. Next is back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2.
6. back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2 comes up about 91 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes.
7. back through Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 92 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes. Next is back through Hallasan Natural Reserve.
8. back through Hallasan Natural Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hallasan Natural Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hallasan Natural Reserve, late in the day. Next is Jeju.
9. Jeju
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jeju 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 172 km.
Leg by leg
Jeju to Hallasan Natural Reserve
Jeju → Hallasan Natural Reserve is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hallasan Natural Reserve to Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes
Hallasan Natural Reserve → Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2 to Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2 → Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 is 4 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 to back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 → back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 2 is 5 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes to back through Hallasan Natural Reserve
back through Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes → back through Hallasan Natural Reserve is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hallasan Natural Reserve to Jeju
back through Hallasan Natural Reserve → Jeju is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.