Why this ride
148 km from Seogwipo to Seogwipo, about 2 h 58 of riding. On the way it passes Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1, Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone and back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hallasan Natural Reserve and Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 148 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 58
- 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 49 km this is Jeju Island Coastal Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 49 km
- Named road
- Jeju Island Coastal Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1.
2. 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 comes up about 49 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone.
3. 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
about 71 km into the recorded legs you reach Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone. Next is back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1.
4. back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1, late in the day. Next is Hallasan Natural Reserve.
5. 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 at Hallasan Natural Reserve. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hallasan Natural Reserve to Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1
Hallasan Natural Reserve → Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 to Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone
Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 → Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone to back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1
Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone → back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 to Hallasan Natural Reserve
back through Geomunoreum Lava Tube System - 1 → Hallasan Natural Reserve is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.