Trip to Odaesan [Pyeongchang]

Visited the beautiful Odaesan in PyeongChang, South Korea. We initially wanted to head there for the annual Trout Festival but due to bad weather it was pushed back. We had already made plans and bought tickets and therefore decided to visit the beautiful Odaesan that was located in Jinbu. This place is extremely well known for having one of the most beautiful scenery during the Winter. Indeed it was well worth the trip down because the place was just breathtaking. 

Odaesan

2 Odaesan-ro, Jinbu-Myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, South Korea

강원도 평창군 진부면 오대산로 2

Head to the Nambu Bus Terminal on Line 3, then buy tickets to Jinbu bus terminal. When you get there, check out the timetable for the buses toward Odaesan. There are first buses from 0630 all the way to 1920 that leaves Jinbu Terminal and buses that leave Odaesan from 0645 to 1940. That being said, the intervals are roughly 50 minutes to an hour so plan your time wisely when you head up there. (Bus timings at the end of the post) If you miss the bus, no taxi is gonna be picking you up deep within the forest. The trip from Jinbu Terminal to halfway up the mountain is around 20 minutes. (Yes, they bring you halfway up so you don't trek too long). If you're up for a challenge you can always get off at the foot and trek up. We were there for photography so we didn't take the tough way. 

The entire mountain was white, covered in snow and just beautiful. The roads were white and slippery and we had to take a lot of care walking around (or at least I had to since I'm scared of falling..). The place was so pretty, with lots of streams and rivers flowing down, making the hike up more therapeutic. 

When we arrived at the foot of the steep climb, we found this rail-like thing that apparently brings people up. I guess they also use it to bring food and amenities to the people living up there in the temples. I can't imagine walking up every day or week when they need to purchase food. 

Just look at that amazing scenery...

Look at all those amazing white pathways and snow-covered trees. I've never seen such beauty in real life. I've always seen things like these in photos and in videos or movies but never in real life. Even if I've seen snow before, it's never spread out like this over a mountain. I'll let the photos do the talking!

We finally reached the point where we wanted to go. (Definitely not the peak). The way to this temple at the top is paved out with stairs and it wasn't that difficult to get to though the road may be slippery. If you want to head to the peak it's almost 2 times more the distance to this temple in the first place. Experienced trekkers whom we met along the way said that it takes around 2 hours to and from the peak. All of us took around 4 hours to reach the temple because we stopped to take photos a lot. Another issue was that the pathway to the peak was a dirt path covered with snow. Meaning if you did not have the proper gear to trek you might fall into... oblivion. On top of that, sunset begins at 3pm since this was the east side and therefore we had to start heading down from 3pm to avoid it getting too dark to see. 

The road back down was equally beautiful and we had to rush a little because of the bus timing. Headed down really fast and I even fell because of this slippery icy spot that I stepped on. Made it for the bus and we all fell asleep, tired from the hike upwards and the early day. All in all a fruitful trip though it may have been exhausting. 

Buses leaving Jinbu Terminal: 0630, 0740, 0830, 0940, 1050, 1150, 1250, 1350, 1420, 1530, 1640, 1920

Buses leaving Odaesan: 0645, 0755, 0920, 1030, 1130, 1240, 1400, 1450, 1535, 1620, 1720

Till next time~