Gyeongju

Shilla capital Gyeongju is on almost every visitor to South Korea’s itinerary. Located in Gyeonsangbuk-do, around 4 hours drive from Seoul, the city and its outlying areas are bursting with historical and cultural treasures waiting to be explored. The only downside is that Gyeongju’s popularity means you may well be sharing it with many, many others. If at all possible, a midweek visit will allow you a bit more space to relax and drink in the atmosphere, but failing that set off late on a Friday night or early Saturday morning from Seoul to try and miss the traffic if travelling by bus.

As usual, a convenient glut of reasonably priced love motels sits almost adjacent to the bus terminal. On an exploratory stroll through the city, most visitors are likely to run into the centrally located Tumuli Park sooner rather than later. The Tumuli are actually the tombs of important figures in the Shilla dynasty and resemble small, rounded hills. The contrast of the clean, quiet, greenery-filled park with Seoul’s urban centres means it’s possible to spend at least an hour or so strolling here.

Many of Gyeongju’s other significant sights are within easy walking distance of Tumuli Park. Anapji Pond is a pretty place to visit, whilst Wolseong Park contains a few ruins of interest such as Cheomseongdae (an ancient astrological observatory) and Seokbinggo (an ice house). Although the sights themselves may not be overwhelmingly impressive, like Tumuli park the overall ambience and wide open spaces make the area pleasant to explore.

The real stars of Gyeongju’s show are located outside of the city center. By far the most popular are Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto, both of which can easily be reached by public transport. Bulguksa has earned itself a well deserved place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and the beauty of the structure itself is further enhanced by its enchanting location, on a hillside surrounded by forest and with a picturesque garden and pond at its entrance.

Seokguram Grotto is perched in the mountains behind Bulguksa and the winding journey upwards through the trees ends at the grotto’s car park, where visitors are deposited. From there it is a short walk along a wide, shady path to the beginning of the stairs leading up to the grotto. At the top, the grotto contains numerous Buddhist sculptures and the views over the surrounding area are magnificent, stretching as far as the sea on a reasonably clear day.

The amount of culture and history in Gyeongju means it is impossible to cover everything here, grab one of the excellent city maps from tourist information and explore to your heart’s content.

Transport: Gyeongju is around 4 hours from Seoul by bus. Direct rail services from Seoul Station take 4 and a half to 5 hours. The alternative is to take a KTX train to Dongdaegu and transfer to a local service there, which could reduce travel time to 3 hours excluding transfer time in Daegu. In Gyeongju, buses 10 and 11 go to Bulguksa, where there is a service to Seokguram Grotto once an hour. The driver will usually advise you of the return bus time when you are dropped at the Seokguram car park. Most of the city centre sights are within easy walking distance of each other, although hiring bikes has become a popular way to get around town.

Accommodation: There are numerous love motels on the streets behind the bus station for around 50,000 per night. There are also a couple of youth hostels/Yeogwon available through www.hostelbookers.com.