Bisulsan (비슬산) was our first stop on a three mountain adventure day! It was a beautiful beginning.
On our way to the base of the mountain, we drove past the Daegu Flower Garden, which was lit up beautifully at night. Sometimes, we’re tourists – even if we don’t arrive til after midnight!
In the morning, we got up before sunrise and drove the long, winding, narrow road up to Doseongam on Bisulsan’s slopes. Although I’d examined this route, actually doing it in the pale predawn light seemed insane! The road was so steep that my heart was in my throat the whole drive. We might not have even gone ahead with the plan had it not been for a couple of other cars on the road with us.
We parked below a hidden hermitage (and rather close to a steep dropoff!). I thought our Bisulsan route would be all road, and that it would lead up to an observation tower like the one we visited on Seodaesan and the one we admired from afar on Garisan. Both assumptions were wrong.
We headed off on a trail, going downhill at first and bypassing the temple. After getting a little lost, we were quickly back to rights. We then climbed up some carved earth stairs, tiptoed around around a tent in the middle of the trail, and scaled a few rocks aided by a few ropes.
This route up Bisulsan was longer and slightly tougher going than I’d imagined, mainly because there was some snow on the ground! We saw three hikers already on their way down, and passed plenty of nice resting benches.
Once we rounded a hairpin turn and began to climb the summit ridge, we had incredible views of the sun rising over the valley below! We were still in deep shadow ourselves, but we could see the big summit stele light up in the first rays of the sun!
Finally, we burst out into sunlight ourselves! The ridge leveled out and golden eulalia grasses caught the light. We were all alone up top, save for a sleeping tent on a helipad a few hundred meters away. There was also a nice resting gazebo, and we could see the three other peaks of Bisulsan in the distance. That characteristic observation tower was on the furthest one.
I felt a pang of regret that we couldn’t just stay and play here. The terrain up top looked really runnable, and there were many more trails than I’d expected!
But there were many delights we did have time for, like recognizing Palgongsan across the urban sprawl! The morning light was gorgeous, and the scenery brilliant: all blue mountains and low valleys filled with clouds.
Additionally of note: Bisulsan’s summit stele was placed especially dramatically on a rocky ledge. Very fun! It was tough to leave, but we made good time going in reverse. We ran where we could, and I was relieved not to be scared of sliding. The snowiest areas were wide and non-threatening, so I could keep up my momentum and work on some technical skills.
We saw a few people beginning to climb Bisulsan, but it was still too early for most. The trail tent was gone. Back at the car, I gave Kent an eating assignment while I went to check out the Doseongam hermitage – which was absolutely gorgeous and serene!
After a mildly alarming descent on the road (thankfully following another car and not meeting any oncoming traffic), we had a half hour’s drive through a hazy industrial valley to get to our next natural oasis. Although we were saying goodbye to Bisulsan, we weren’t going far. Indeed, we could still see Bisulsan from Hwawangsan – our next mountain!
KNOW AND GO! BISULSAN
TRANSPORTATION
Bisulsan is conveniently located just south of the Daegu metropolitan area. In fact, there’s direct access from some of the southern neighborhoods of the city! There’s great options for a longer hike or training run.
Also, Bisulsan is literally right next to Daegu’s southerly satellite Dalseong, which also has buses and amenities.
There are no known buses on the route we chose, ascending from Doseongam on the northern slopes of Bisulsan. And if you’re driving, beware that the road is extremely steep and narrow!
There are bus routes over to the main entrance of Bisulsan Natural Recreation Forest, however. You can connect in Dalseong to these – or to a taxi. There’s actually a road right up to the top over here, but I’m not sure if it’s publicly accessible.
From the looks of it, there’s other access options from the south and east, but Dalseong is definitely the hub for the Bisulsan area if you’re coming from outside of Daegu.
HIKE & RUN
I was delighted to see a wealth of options for hiking and running on Bisulsan! Alas, I didn’t have time to check them out myself. That’s the downside of fast-and-furious adventuring: sometimes you find cool stuff you want to explore but didn’t leave time for. For us, the fact that it was mid-December and time was ticking on our plan to climb 76 summits in 2018 necessitated this three peak day.
But Bisulsan itself has four peaks, plus an observation tower, so you can have a pretty epic adventure just on this one mountain! Check out the great views of Palgongsan to the north – consider visiting that mountain on your trip too!
And if you’re based in Daegu, this ought to be part of your playground!
STAY & EAT
Driving to Bisulsan late at night, we scoped out two motels halfway up the hill that turned out to be closed. So we wound up retracing our steps and staying at a motel across from the bus terminal in Dalseong.
Staying in town is probably your best bet too. If you’re in Dalseong, Bisulsan is just a drive, bus or taxi ride away first thing in the morning. However, a quick look at a map will show multiple pensions and minbaks basically surrounding the mountain. If you’re after a little extra adventure or some peace and quiet, I bet you can find some great options!
Alternatively, Colorful Daegu is close at hand. If you like your mountains with a side of urban adventures, staying in Daegu might not be a bad choice for you!
As was often unfortunately the case during our second mountain mission, we didn’t eat locally. This was just timing: we arrived too late for anything good to be open, and left too early! But what I wouldn’t give now to go on a quest for a gamjajeon or some deodeokgui!
However, I will say that there were definitely no food options at our remote trailhead. I’d bet you’ll have better luck finding mountain vegetable fare in the natural recreation forest area. Plus, Daegu is oh-so-close for all advanced feasting needs…
OTHER NOTES
Bisulsan is 1084 meters high, and famous for its unique aspects in all four seasons. It’s found on both of the 100 summits lists in Korea: find it on the Korea Forest Service list here and the Black Yak list here.
Kent drove us up the steep slopes of Bisulsan on a cold December morning in 2018. We did a short hike/run: just 4.5k out-and-back to the summit.
Return to the 120 summits main page, or join us for further adventures on Hwawangsan and Unmunsan on the same day!
Thanks for taking a virtual hike with me, and enjoy your real-life adventures on Bisulsan!