Hiking in Seoul : Bukhansan National Park
Seoul, South Korea
Hiking in Seoul : Bukhansan National Park
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Seoul, South Korea
- 4 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Overview
Seoul is a vibrant city rich in history and tradition, and no visit to South Korea would be complete without exploring its hidden corners and landmarks. This Mt. Bukhan Guided Hiking Tour allows you to explore ancient temples and see one of the most important Korean rituals, as well as shop for hand-crafted art. You’ll hike Bukhansan National Park, either on a trail suited for beginners or more advanced, depending on your preference.
- See the best of Seoul’s history and culture in one day
- Visit top sites including Gyeongbok Palace and the Jogyesa temple
- Perfect for all types of fitness levels from beginning to advanced
- Round-trip travel from central Seoul is included for your convenience
What's Included
Meeting and Pickup
Itinerary
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 81 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Great hike with a wonderful view up top! It is quite challenging though, and the weather certainly didn’t make it less so! However, it did give us a sense of accomplishment when we were done
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Dear Customer.
Hello, this is Jane from VIP Travel.
Thank you very much for taking your time to review our tour and leave the precious 5-star review.😊
It means a lot to us. We wish you all the best for your upcoming travel!🧡
We had a wonderful tour with our guide, Juno. It was a challenging climb at times (for me!) but the views from the top were very worth it! I would recommend making sure you have a good level of fitness before undertaking this as the stairs and terrain are very steep in places, but you can take it at your own pace and rest when needed. The park is so beautiful, it's hard to imagine it's this close to a megacity!
Response from Host, Apr 2025
Dear Valued Customer,
Greetings from VIP Travel. This is Julie.
We are truly delighted to hear that you had a pleasant and memorable experience with one of our professional guides. We would like to express our sincere appreciation for taking the time to leave us a 5-star review.
Your kind words and thoughtful recommendation mean a great deal to us. They not only encourage our team but also serve as a valuable reference for future travelers considering our services.
We remain committed to providing exceptional service and unforgettable travel experiences.
We sincerely hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you again on your next visit to Korea.
With warm regards,
Julie
VIP Travel
The view was worth the pain. The activity is highly recommended. I would like to say hi and thank you to our guide "Gabbie" I think. She was very patient and went beyond her duty. She helped us booking our KTX Train ticket. One think South Korea is still lacking is translation of signage, it will take a lot of guessing ang running around., but with people like her Korea is more fun and interested. Gabbie even made sure gave us instruction on how to get back to our Hotel from Yongsan station.
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Dear Customer. Hello, this is Julie from VIP Travel. We are glad that you had amazing tour with one of our knowledgeable guides. We appreciate you taking the time to give us a 5-star review. Your comments will be very helpful to other customers and to us. Thank you for your review. We are always happy to answer any questions you may have. Enjoy the rest of your trip in Korea!
This was such an unique experience! Our guide Anna was so friendly and fun! The hike was tough and I would say you need to be experienced in hiking rough terrain so we didn't make it all the way to the temple, but we still had a good hike and walk! Our guide Anna was super sweet!
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Dear Customer. Hello, this is Charlie from VIP Travel. We are delighted that you had a fantastic tour with one of our knowledgeable guide. We appreciate a lot for your time to give us a 5-star review. Your comments will be very helpful to other customers and to us. Thank you for your Review🧡
Just found this link. I don't remember ever getting an email to rate. I remember this trip fondly. This is an actual hike up the mountain. The large rocks are our stairs. It was strenuous for me. When I got to the Buddha Temple about three fourth way up, I opted to go to the temple instead of hiking up to the summit. The temple was quite a sight! I loved it. The best was yet to come after lunch! I LOVED the Korean style spa! They scrubbed off a layer of my dead skin. My had literally looked younger. Even my husband can tell the difference!
SAVE YOUR !! Disappointed that our hike destination was certainly not the one featured in the picture!! Hike was one of the shorter and easier routes that ended at the rock that looks like a hat. On the way to the rock, we passed on a lovely stream and a buddhist temple. Our guide was nice however, didn't bother informing us of any details, background, history, etc where we're going or where we're at. Most important, she didn't even check if we had all the proper necessities for the hike and not even offering water! She was on her phone most of the time while hiking ahead of us, not even bothering to look back if we're ok until we asked her to slow down and give us a helping had when necessary. It's more like just hiking with a friend, not a tour guide! Basically she just walked/hiked and led the way..that's it! She didn't even want to stop at the temple saying it's part of another tour but we insisted - how can we not?! Best to save and hike on your own.
As for the Korean style spa, it's just ok. I've been to several jijimbangs before so I know the drill. This spa only offers 20 minutes of scrub usually 40 mins, barely there cucumber mask left on for 5 minutes and 15 minutes for mud wraps not really a wrap - more like mud thrown from a bucket at you and DIY spread the mud all over your body. We added an hour massage extra which was so-so. The spa is very clean, first steam room is nicely hot but the other two for the mud wraps were not. Pools were warm enough. One wouldn't know any better if you're new to a Korean-style spa. This is a shadow of what it really is..short and very basic. We weren't even offered any kind of fruit, food or drink except water. Usually there's beverage and food for free available at these places.
It's not that bad if we didn't know any better kind of tour. Such a shame..
Super fun hike! It definitely raised my heart rate, but was worth the beauty at the top. The spa was a perfect way to end the day after the hike. I added on a massage and it was amazing. The guide was sweet, and oh lunch was delicious.
Great hike! The tour guide picked us on time at the hotel. From the beginning to the end of the hike was about 3 hrs included one stop at the temple. I wouldn't recommend this tour to children that is 10 yrs old and under. It was very hot and a lot of bugs/misquotes, so don't forget to bring misquotes sprays, sunblocks, a towel, and a least two bottles of water. Our tour guide didn't say much. Lunch was really good. We skipped the Ginseng part since we weren't into ginseng, which now I regretted that we passed on that part. We wanted to have more time at the massage place. I didn't know that the massage people dropping us off at the hotel otherwise I would have gone to the ginseng place. We paid extra hour for the massage and it was ok. And it was not cheap.
We hiked in the rain. Longer hike than what we expected. Good experience though. We enjoyed the lunch ...
We always schedule something active for our first day in a country it helps with jet lag and long-haul kinks. This was a great walk with a very pleasant and interesting guide - followed by one of the best lunches of our vacation.
This was an excellent hike! We enjoyed the representative that guided us. The spa experience was wonderful. . . Especially enjoyed the exfoliation and soaking in the warm water. Great rejuvenation after the hike.
Great experience! The guide Chance was awesome, the hike was manageable and is rewarded with a beautiful view from Mt. Bukhan. Highly recommend!
Loved the hike to Mt Bukhan, terrific guide who was very knowledgeable and entertaining!
We had a delicious lunch at the end of the hike - fabulous day!
Was not as keen with the Korean spa as it was inside a building - thought mistakenly that it would outdoors.....spa was not really my cup of tea.....next time will try an all-day hike!
The hike was really good, our guide, chance, was really chatty which made the whole thing more interesting. The top of the mountain has quite a view. The only think i would chance about this tour would be the spa. After the lunch we were taken into this underground foreigner only spa. Included on the tour was body scrub and cucumber facial and sauna, but they will reccommend other more expensive stuff to do it actually amounted to 250 dollars. So i took it. It was a just a massage and face pack. The massage was really painful, and the face pack i didnt enjoy as i just my eyelashes done so i was worried about them breaking it. I wish i didnt take that extra course. Also, they talk in japanese to me. Also, i was naked the entire time in the spa and the staff were just there sitting chatting one was even brushing her teeth. I was walking in between their chairs naked while they were chatting. That ws very awkward for me. I wish they would take the talking
/meeting/gossiping outside. Also during massage, i was never able to relax as my masseur was talking with someone very loud the entire time. The staffs in the spa need to learn professionalism and customer service.
I very much enjoyed the hike and lunch on the mountain. Skip the ginseng factory tour but the rest was great.
We loved this hike. Our tour guide matched the challenge to our abilities. What a beautiful location and it offers terrific insight into a piece of the Seoul mindset as this is a very popular location for locals on the weekends. We came in June which is not prime season. I very much want to do this hike again in the fall when the leaves are turning.
Our tour guide Chance was fantastic and very knowledgeable. We enjoyed this hike so much, it was our favourite part. You will need hiking boots some areas are slippery and you are following a steep path and climbing up rocks and stairs almost the whole way. It says beginners ok, but you need a basic level of fitness to enjoy this.
The spa at the end was an experience!... I was glad there was another person there with me we were the only two there at the time. You have to be comfortable being nude, there are no treatment rooms. Your skin will be super soft at the end though. It is refreshing but not for the faint of heart. I would say also that the Korean spa is 'old fashioned'. It's not Gangnam style, if you catch my drift.
We had a perfect day for our hike up Bukhan Mountain. It was a highlight of our visit to Seoul. In the midst of a city with a population over 10 million, there is this quiet corner of nature. The path up the mountain was breathtakingly beautiful. There was lots of color and the sound of rushing water made the hike very peaceful. There is a temple half way up the mountain. BK was our guide and he was great. He loaned us some walking sticks that made the climb easy. He was patient about taking photos of us. He spoke fluent English and was able to share things that made the visit memorable. He gave us an experience we will always remember. We will look for him when we visit again.
Totally loved the hike, the guide, the lunch and definitely the traditional jjimjibang.
Beautiful warm fall day with a group of six and a fabulous guide. I would recommend this hike to be on your bucket list as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You must be in good physical shape. Fantastic views! The Korean style spa was another great adventure that I feel anyone visiting South Korea should experience. Wonderful day!!
My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our hike! We went on a very rainy Winter's day and had the day to ourselves. Our tour guide picked us up from City Hall Train Station and was a wonderful guide unfortunately we never introduced ourselves, so didn't get his name!. He shared some interesting history with us while we walked and spoke immaculate English. The hike definitely had some challenging parts, but it was great fun and we got to set our own pace. There was a bit of manoeuvring across stream on unsteady / sparsely spaced rocks, so it was an awesome adventure!
After a delicious lunch, we were taken to the day spa which we also got all to ourselves. There are separate areas for men and women, so I can only share my female experience. Traditional Korean Spas require you to get 100 nude which was an experience in itself. After several saunas and a mud treatment for women only! you take dips in different temperature pools before being scrubbed / exfoliated down - it was such a unique experience which I highly recommend.
If it's raining I suggest taking an extra set of clothes with you to change into after the spa, our clothes were a bit damp after the hike!
As we had the tour to ourselves that day they were also able to drop us off back at our accommodation. An awesome day tour! Thank you Viator and VIP Travel!
The tour guide was excellent, and the hike was tailored to our pace. It was a very nice hiking experience relatively close to the city center.
My husband and I loved this excursion! Our delightful, English speaking tour guide, Zoe, was just great! She knew the mountain well and paced the hike to be comfortable for us. She also had great knowledge of the history of the area. The hike gains elevation quickly and continues uphill for about 2 miles. The terrain is rocky and sometimes a bit slick. In many places there are long series of stone steps. But the view from the top is breathtaking! You see a panoramic vistas of the distant city on all sides of the mountain. We were lucky to be there on a very clear day.
We were not looking forward to the stop at the ginseng market, but at the end we were glad we stopped! There was a quick presentation about ginseng in a very nice facility and we left with some products to take at home. Be prepared that ginseng is fairly expensive. There is no requirement to buy anything. After the market, we went into the city for lunch, and then onto the spa.
If you have never been to a Korean Spa, you are in for an adventure! We loved it! Don't expected soothing spa music and pampering. Instead go with an adventurous attitude, be open, and have fun! The spa is divided into a men's side and a women's side and once you are on your side, nudity is the expectation. Even the staff wears only undergarments because the process of a good scrub is messy and wet! None of the spa staff spoke English, so there was a lot of pushing and pulling and pointing to keep us moving in the right direction. After a series of hot rooms and mud and saunas and soaks came a very invigorating full body scrub. All I can say is wow! My husband and I laughed and laughed as we recounted our experiences on the way back to the hotel.
I highly recommend this excursion if you are ready to get out of the city and into nature, history, and a bit of first hand culture.
Excellent tour, guide was great, spectacular views, lunch was great as well and the korean spa was a great way to end the tour. Will definitely do it again.
Excellent hike and overall experience with friendly guide.
Spa experience was ok but little help was given to a newcomer to Korean spa - all ok though
Our guide was awesome. Very knowledgeable and slowed down for my girl friend's pace. The Spa was okay, they try to up sale you a bit, but they aren't overly pushy. We are happy and would do the tour again in a second
highly recommended for the adventurous type. climb was not easy though and be prepared to sweat. tour guide, Mr. Chens ?spelling, was very knowledgeable and helpful. amazing view of seoul at the summit! :
Outstanding! Bring good shoes for the hike - it is a hike and not a gentle stroll. The views at the top are incredible and the peak is a small secluded spot there was no-one else there the whole time we were up there! - the lunch is good and the Korean spa was a unique experience - I loved it! The stop at the Ginseng Centre is a sideshow and there's some hard selling from the representatives there but this is a minor dot on an otherwise incredible tour. Book this!
One of our best tour in Korea. Highly recommended!!!
Beautiful hike. Invited to lunch with Buddist monk at temple on mountain. Also rice wine and scallion pancake at restaurant on mountain. Spa treatment was great after the strenuous hike.
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