The reason why this post is so delayed is because I visited Naejangsan twice! The first time I went on 30th Oct it wasn’t the peak of the autumn foliage yet so I was kinda disappointed, so my friends and I decided to make a 2nd trip, this time using the Jeonbuk Shuttle Service. The foreigners-exclusive shuttle cost us 10,000won each, and brought us to Naejangsan for 2 hours, followed by Jeonju hanok village for 2 hours, before coming back up to Seoul. The journey is about 4 hours each way, kind of tiring for a day-trip though.
Naejangsan is really worthy of being the prettiest autumn foliage destination in Korea. There were so many people both days I was there.
If you only have a limited time (like we did the 2nd time) at the Park, do consider taking the internal shuttle bus that costs 1000won one-way. It goes directly to the foot of Naejangsa Temple and saves you about 35min of walking. You can walk down to the pond after visiting the temple and back to the entrance, which will be less tiring than walking both ways.
We had lunch at one of the restaurants in the area during my first visit with Wow Korea, a nice hot mushroom pot (버섯전골) in the cold weather. Restaurants are really packed during the peak season so be sure to plan time for lunch ahead of time.
The first time we went, the leaves were too green and the 2nd time we went, it was the day after it rained so lots of leaves fell already 😦 We missed the super beautiful peak timing both times even though it was still beautiful! After the 2nd trip Rufus immediately said we should visit again next year hahahah. He is a naejangsan-addict. Do check out his blog because Rufus is a very talented photographer!
Transportation
Take a bus from Express Bus Terminal (Central City, Honam Line) to Jeongeup Intercity Bus Terminal. Then take local bus no. 171 and alight at the entrance of Naejangsan National Park (terminal stop, approx. 30min). Bus 171 comes at intervals of around 20 minutes.
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