In my last article I wrote about fully exploring the west side of Jeju Island. This included riding a horse on a volcanic crater, trekking through Cheonjeyoen Falls, going to some hilarious theme parks, and more awesome activities. In this article I will be writing about exploring the east side of the island with the same tour guide: Jeju Day Tour. The East Course runs on odd-numbered days and is the same price as the West Course—roughly $65 USD. The duration of the tour is 9 – 10 hours but includes lunch and plenty of breaks. The tour group was also under 10 people which was great too.
As I mentioned before, the local buses only stop at certain places so having a tour guide for thorough exploration of Jeju is ideal. Especially if you don’t speak any Hangul like me! I was once again very satisfied with the high quality of Jeju Day Tour because it’s run by a local guide named Mr. Ko and his courses stop at the most places on the island. With a heart wistful of adventure, I set off for my 4th day on the island!
Manjanggul Lava Tube
Our very first stop was the Manjanggul Lava Tube which is one of the longest lava tubes in the world and is also a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. It was formed when lava flowed towards the sea and has a cave you can explore. The cave only takes a couple of minutes to see, but examining all rock formations and detail inside is very interesting. There are also bat colonies that live in here, but fortunately we didn’t run into any!
Maze Land
Maze Land is a self-explanatory theme park with the world’s longest stone maze that is just over 5km. Look at Jeju, setting those world records! There are three mazes in total you can challenge here—two of them intersect with a combination of stone and hedge walls. Most mazes can be completed in 8 – 24 minutes. This was one of the most relaxing parts of the tour because I was able to walk around the beautiful hedges and listen to music. Parts of it felt more like a large garden than a maze! The most hilarious part was watching Korean children climb the walls and give their friends instructions on how to get out. Fortunately the walls weren’t very steep. I will admit I got lost a few times though!
Seongsan Ilchulbong
Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called “Sunrise Peak”, is one of the best lookout points on the island… But of course the day I went it was submerged in fog! The peak was formed by hydro-volcanic eruptions so it has a very unique shape. If you click on the 2nd picture, you can vaguely make out the beautiful coast of Jeju. The climb to the top only takes around 25 mins and you can use the wooden stairs. Fortunately I already had climbed Mt. Hallasan and got clear pictures of the crater lake at the top. If you run into fog during your tour, I would recommend going to Mt. Hallasan by yourself on a sunny day for a better chance!
Seopjikoji
Seongeup Folk Village
From 1410 to 1914, Seongeup was a small village that played a big role in the cultural history and development of Jeju Island. The village is located at the foot of Halla Mountain and has since turned into somewhat of an open air museum. Here you can see the huts that people lived in, fortress ruins, stone monuments, and a lot of other interesting things that have made up the history of Jeju. Outside of museums in Seoul, this was the first time I had the chance to see the history of Korea up close.
Eco Land
The last stop was at a train-themed amusement park in the forest called Eco Land! Not going to lie—I was completely exhausted by this point. After 4 action-packed days of hiking and being exposed to an entirely new culture, I could feel my body craving rest. Eco Land was a great place to relax though because you can literally ride the train around five different stations without getting off. Or you can be super active and get off and explore at each station. Within the forest there are multiple gardens, a lake with a cave and various attractions, and also animals you can see! This was the only part of the tour that felt a bit rushed, but it was also likely due to my lack of energy. Even though I was tired, being in the forest was a great way to end this tour.
Final Remarks
What another amazing day! I enjoyed this tour almost the same as I did the west side of the island and would recommend it to all my friends that are traveling through Jeju. The East Course seemed to have more nature activities, but that was completely fine by me. Even if you don’t like hiking, you can choose to go horseback riding or try local food at the stops. Jeju is so beautiful and has so much to see that it’s extremely hard to get bored here.
My next article will be the last of the Jeju Cronichles. I will be writing about how I hired a private taxi to go to the few places that weren’t covered by the tour. Though it’s been two years since I’ve been here, this island still is extremely special to me. Thank you for reading.