Seokbulsa

This temple is located at high place of the GumJungSan. You can see some Buddha on the rock. Beautiful scenery makes me feel relaxed.

The temple was a bit of a hike from the cable car station and the South Gate. There are many intersections so it is easy to get lost unless you follow the signs clearly. However the temple is very serene and the carvings on the wall are very unique. Worth a hike on a good weather day.

This is a magical place. The road up to the temple meanders through a beautiful deciduous forest. The final part of the walk is a bit steep, but site (and its sights) more than make up for the effort. The temple itself is something out of a fairy tale - carved out of the rock and yet complementing the natural surroundings harmoniously. If you are ever in Busan, this should be one of you top five places to visit.

Great hike up, peaceful surroundings, and amazing views ?

Beautiful temple with amazing relief carvings on the cliff walls. The temple is somehow difficult to access, but worth the visit. The entrance is free, and no fee is required. I stayed ther 30 or 40 min, more than enough (relatively small temple). To get there, you can either take the subway to Mandeok station and then walk the way up for around 30 to 40 min depending on your physical condition. Another option could be to take a taxi up to the parking lot and then walk for 3 to 5 min up to the entrance.

For sure one of the most unique temples which I've seen in Asia. Its location makes it special. I recommend that you go there before noon and in the afternoon go up over Geumjeong Mountain to the cable car station.

Beautiful and very quiet place for relax and to be with own thoughts

If you don’t want to exhaust yourself completely, take a taxi to the temple itself. It’s 500m away from where they can drop you off, and it’s up an extreme incline. If you want to go to the South Gate, take the cable car. I would suggest lots of water and hiking boots. From the cable car to South Gate it is a mild hike. If you walk around the perimeter of the gate it’s about 13km if I remember correctly, but it’s only approx 2km from the cable to the gate. If you walk from the cable, to the gate, then to the temple, you need good hiking shoes, lots of water, and do not go on a rainy day. This is a moderate hike (read: for an experienced hiker, if you don’t do this normally it’s painful/exhausting/and you’ll likely fall/slip at least once). You will walk out the South Gate on the somewhat paved area. You will think to yourself that this will be a fine experience and easy 2km walk. It’s not. Once you hit the village you will need to follow the trail to the right next to very outdated tennis courts. From there it’s a pretty easy to identity (don’t confuse with easy to navigate) trail. Follow this all the way to the road where you think you have finally made it, but you haven’t. You will go right and walk another 500m (approx, but my legs determined that was a lie) up a continuous cut-back road until you finally make it to the entrance of the temple. When you walk up, it doesn’t really seem all that spectacular, but the carvings in the rock face and the stairs/small prayer areas/etc are actually beautiful and interesting. It is beautiful, it it’s worth it, it is not something you will do in 1-1.5 hours and then go relax at the beach.