CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
233 km from Ganghwa-gun to Ganghwa-gun, about 4 h 01 of riding. On the way it passes Mausoleum of King Kongmin, Pajusamreung Cluster, Jeongneung Cluster and back through Pajusamreung Cluster. It crosses from South Korea into North Korea - carry ID and check the toll rules. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Ganghwa Island lies in the mouth of the Han River, just north-west of Seoul and Incheon, and on a clear day you can look across a narrow channel of tidal water straight into North Korea. The town of Kaesong is barely twenty-five kilometres away. That closeness gives the island an edge, with watch posts and fences along parts of the shore, but its fame is much older. The Ganghwa dolmens, together with those at Gochang and Hwasun in the south, were listed by UNESCO in 2000, and Korea holds a remarkable share of all the dolmens known in the world.
Read the complete Kanghwa Dolmen Sites write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kanghwa Dolmen Sites is where the day begins. Next is Mausoleum of King Kongmin.
Of all the places on the list of world heritage, the Mausoleum of King Kongmin must be one of the hardest to reach on two wheels, because it lies in North Korea, in the hills west of the old city of Kaesong.
Read the complete Mausoleum of King Kongmin write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Mausoleum of King Kongmin comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pajusamreung Cluster.
Close to the most heavily fortified border in the world, three royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty lie in a quiet pine forest in Paju, north of Seoul. Pajusamreung, the three tombs of Paju, include the resting places of Queen Jangsun and Queen Gonghye, both married to kings and both of whom died young, and of King Jinjong, honoured after his early death. Like all the Joseon royal tombs, they follow a precise layout of spirit gates, stone paths, shrines and grass mounds guarded by stone officials and animals, and they are part of the World Heritage listing of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.
Read the complete Pajusamreung Cluster write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 87 km into the recorded legs you reach Pajusamreung Cluster. Next is Jeongneung Cluster.
Jeongneung is a royal tomb in the middle of Seoul, in the wooded hills of Seongbuk district just north of the old city, and it carries one of the more spiteful stories of the early Joseon court. It belongs to Queen Sindeok, the second wife of the dynasty's founder, King Taejo. Her son was named crown prince ahead of Taejo's older sons by his first wife, and one of those older sons, Yi Bang-won, struck back violently, killing his half-brothers and eventually taking the throne as King Taejong.
Read the complete Jeongneung Cluster write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Jeongneung Cluster, about halfway. Next is back through Pajusamreung Cluster.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pajusamreung Cluster write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Pajusamreung Cluster sits at 155 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mausoleum of King Kongmin.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mausoleum of King Kongmin write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Mausoleum of King Kongmin comes up about 202 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kanghwa Dolmen Sites.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kanghwa Dolmen Sites write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kanghwa Dolmen Sites closes the day.
Kanghwa Dolmen Sites → Mausoleum of King Kongmin is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausoleum of King Kongmin → Pajusamreung Cluster is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pajusamreung Cluster → Jeongneung Cluster is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jeongneung Cluster → back through Pajusamreung Cluster is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pajusamreung Cluster → back through Mausoleum of King Kongmin is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mausoleum of King Kongmin → Kanghwa Dolmen Sites is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.