Namhae island sports a beautiful array of forested trails so of course Seoul Hiking Group picked the best one for our sunrise hike! The bus left our sleeping counterparts at the pension at 6am and we arrived at the base of Geumsan shortly after. The hike began fairly flat through the woods for the first 30 minutes and was a great way to detox from yesterday’s Namhae Oktoberfest and the Jinju Lantern festival two days prior.
As we neared the mountain the trail grew steeper before we were surprised with a gorgeous cave! Turning around we were awestruck at sunrise peaking over the islands in the distance. Beneath us sleepy fishing village slowly began waking up on this Sunday morning as we kept climbing.
A few moments later we found ourselves at a traditional Buddhist temple where we gladly sipped the freshest mountain water I’ve ever had. Upon refreshing ourselves some remained at this beautiful scene while another handful of our group continued to a few more minutes up to the peak.
The views from Guesan reminded me of my first trip with Seoul Hiking Group on the island of Saryangdo. Blue waters surrounding us with small seafaring communities littered the shoreline. Fall colors enhanced this scene making it even more beautiful than the March island hike that Saryangdo sported.
Hesitating a few moments more at the shrines of this gorgeous temple we had to turn back down the mountain to catch the bus or run out of time for sea kayaking!
