Why this ride
A 135 km round trip from Kimhae - roughly 2 h 21 in the saddle. The stops in between: Tongdosa Temple, Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream and back through Tongdosa Temple.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gaya Tumuli and Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream starting at Kimhae
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 135 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 21
- 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. 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 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 46 km into the recorded legs. Next is Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream.
3. Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream
On a cliff face above a quiet stream in the hills west of Ulsan, prehistoric people carved hundreds of images into the rock: whales, turtles, deer, tigers, boats full of men, hunters with spears and nets. The whales are the most striking, with species that can still be identified, such as right whales and humpbacks, and scenes that seem to show whaling from boats, making the Bangudae petroglyphs one of the oldest records of whaling anywhere. A little upstream, the Cheonjeon-ri petroglyphs, with geometric patterns, animals and later inscriptions from the Silla period, add another layer. In 2025, the Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Read the complete Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream. Next is back through Tongdosa Temple.
4. 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 Gaya Tumuli.
5. 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 at Gaya Tumuli. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Gaya Tumuli to Tongdosa Temple
Gaya Tumuli → Tongdosa Temple is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tongdosa Temple to Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream
Tongdosa Temple → Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream to back through Tongdosa Temple
Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream → back through Tongdosa Temple is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tongdosa Temple to Gaya Tumuli
back through Tongdosa Temple → Gaya Tumuli is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.