Bugaksan Mountain북악산

At a glance

Bugaksan is the highest of the four inner mountains that ring central Seoul (with Namsan, Naksan and Inwangsan), and the old city wall was built starting from here. At 342 m it rises as a sharp triangle above the flat ground to the south, where Gyeongbokgung was built at the start of Joseon, and the presidential office Gyeongmudae later stood below it too. Changuimun, one of the four minor gates, sits between Bugaksan and Inwangsan, and the Bugak Skyway road runs from there along the ridge past Palgakjeong pavilion. It was also known as Baegaksan, after a shrine to the mountain spirit; the pines Joseon scholars once loved were later logged, and oaks now cover most of the slopes.

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Bugaksan Mountain · 4 tours & tickets

1. KlookInwangsan and Bugaksan hiking tourA guided hike of about 4.5 hours over Inwangsan and Bugaksan, with a Korean lunch.Book
2. Trip.comSeoul royal palace tourA guided morning or afternoon tour from Myeongdong: Gyeongbokgung and the guard ceremony, Bukchon Hanok Village, then a drive along the Bugak Skyway with a stop at Bugak Palgakjeong pavilion.Book
3. GetYourGuideRoyal guard ceremony & city wall hikeA 3.5-hour small-group tour: the Gyeongbokgung guard changing ceremony, then a hike on the Bugaksan (Baegaksan) section of the Seoul City Wall from Changuimun.Book
4. GetYourGuideSeoul City Wall hike (18 km or half)A guided hike of the Seoul City Wall, full 18 km or a half course, from Hyehwa over Bugaksan and Inwangsan to Namdaemun Market and N Seoul Tower.Book

Places to stay nearby

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Map

Numbers match the list. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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Tips

• 01
  Trail entry stops two hours before closing: in October start by 16:00, and from November the trails open at 09:00 with last entry at 15:00.
• 02
  Changuimun Gate, between Bugaksan and Inwangsan, links the two mountains, so you can walk both in one day.

Nearby

National Folk Museum of KoreaKorea's national museum of everyday life, inside the Gyeongbokgung grounds, with a recreated 1970s–80s street outside and a hands-on children's museum.Bukchon Hanok VillageWalk lanes of lived-in hanok between two palaces, with tiled-roof views over Seoul — quietly, and only 10:00–17:00 in the Red Zone.Seochon VillageThe old neighborhood west of Gyeongbokgung Palace: maze-like lanes of hanok, long-running shops, pastel murals and stylish new spaces.Gyeongbokgung PalaceJoseon's grandest palace: catch the royal guard change at Gwanghwamun, then wander the throne hall and pond pavilions beneath Bugaksan Mountain.