Why this ride
From Yeonil it runs 351 km to Yeonil; allow about 5 h 20 of riding. The stops in between: Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream, Gaya Tumuli, Marisan Tumuli and back through Gaya Tumuli. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village and Marisan Tumuli
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 351 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 20
- 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. Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village
Yangdong is a village that was never really meant to be seen. The Wolseong Son clan and the Yeogang Yi clan settled in this fold of hills north of Gyeongju in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and over the next few hundred years the two families built the tiled mansions of the elite on the upper slopes and the thatched houses of everyone else below, all in careful relation to the hillside. It is one of the best preserved clan villages in Korea, and in 2010 it joined Hahoe, near Andong, on UNESCO's list of historic villages of Korea.
Read the complete Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village is where the day begins. Next is Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream.
2. 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
Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gaya Tumuli.
3. 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
about 118 km into the recorded legs you reach Gaya Tumuli. Next is Marisan Tumuli.
4. Marisan Tumuli
In Haman county, in the south of Korea, a long ridge rises above the town of Gaya, and along its crest lies a line of large burial mounds, grassy domes that seem to ripple across the hills. These are the Malisan, or Marisan, tumuli, the royal tombs of Ara Gaya, one of the states of the Gaya confederacy that flourished in the south of the Korean peninsula from roughly the first to the sixth century. In 2023, they were listed by UNESCO together with other Gaya tumuli across the region.
Read the complete Marisan Tumuli write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Marisan Tumuli, about halfway. Next is back through Gaya Tumuli.
5. back through 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 through Gaya Tumuli sits at 245 km, about halfway. Next is back through Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream.
6. back through Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream comes up about 294 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village.
7. Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village closes the day.
Leg by leg
Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village to Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream
Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village → Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream to Gaya Tumuli
Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream → Gaya Tumuli is 63 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Gaya Tumuli to Marisan Tumuli
Gaya Tumuli → Marisan Tumuli is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Marisan Tumuli to back through Gaya Tumuli
Marisan Tumuli → back through Gaya Tumuli is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gaya Tumuli to back through Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream
back through Gaya Tumuli → back through Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream is 62 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream to Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village
back through Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream → Yangdong Cluster: Yangdong Village is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.