Why this ride
It goes by way of Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone, Hallasan Natural Reserve and back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5 and Hallasan Natural Reserve starting at Jeju City
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 170 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 34
- 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 21 km this is Jeju Island Coastal Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 21 km
- Named road
- Jeju Island Coastal Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5
Underneath the black volcanic soil of Jeju's north-east lies a hidden world. The Geomunoreum lava tube system, a group of caves that carry names such as Manjanggul and Gimnyeong, was formed when rivers of molten rock from the Geomun volcano drained away and left hollow tunnels behind them. UNESCO listed the area together with Hallasan and Seongsan Ilchulbong as the Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes site in 2007, and the tubes are reckoned to be among the finest in the world.
Read the complete Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5 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 - 5 is where the day begins. Next is Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone.
2. Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone
Seongsan Ilchulbong rises from the eastern tip of Jeju like a stone crown that someone dropped into the sea. It is a tuff cone, formed in a single explosive eruption when magma hit shallow water, roughly five thousand years ago, and the crater at the top is a wide, grassy bowl about six hundred metres across, ringed by jagged rocky teeth. The name means sunrise peak, and the Koreans take the idea seriously: on New Year's morning thousands climb the steps to watch the sun come up out of the East Sea.
Read the complete Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hallasan Natural Reserve.
3. 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
about 85 km into the recorded legs you reach Hallasan Natural Reserve. Next is back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone.
4. back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone, late in the day. Next is Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5.
5. Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5 to Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5 → Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone to Hallasan Natural Reserve
Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone → Hallasan Natural Reserve is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hallasan Natural Reserve to back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone
Hallasan Natural Reserve → back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone to Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5
back through Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone → Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 5 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.