Boardwalk on the Yeongsil Trail. The path climbs the ridge to Witse Oreum — it does not go to the summit. ©Basile Morin · CC BY-SA 4.0Boardwalk on the Yeongsil Trail. The path climbs the ridge to Witse Oreum — it does not go to the summit. ©Basile Morin · CC BY-SA 4.0Hallasan › Yeongsil Trail (Hallasan National Park)
The Yeongsil Trail is the shortest and easiest of the five trails in Hallasan National Park, and the one most hikers rate the best for scenery. It starts high — the Yeongsil rest area is already at 1,280 m — and runs past the Yeongsil rock pillars to Witse Oreum Shelter at 1,700 m and on across the Seonjakjiwat plateau to Nambyeok Junction. It is 5.8 km and about 2h30 one way, and it needs no reservation. What it does not do is reach the summit: Baengnokdam can only be reached on the Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa trails.
Last checked 2026-08-06 · Hallasan National Park (jeju.go.kr/hallasan) and the Hallasan reservation system (visithalla.jeju.go.kr) — official Yeongsil trail page, entry cut-off notice and FAQ
Yeongsil is the short, high trail on the south-west side of Mount Halla. Because the Yeongsil rest area sits at 1,280 m, you start more than 500 m higher than on Seongpanak and skip most of the forest slog. The trail climbs a steep ridge section past the Yeongsil rock pillars and Byeongpungbawi ("folding-screen rock"), levels out at Witse Oreum Shelter at 1,700 m, and then crosses the open Seonjakjiwat plateau to Nambyeok Junction at 1,600 m, where it meets the Eorimok and Donnaeko trails. Only the middle ridge section is steep; the rest is gentle, which makes this the easiest of the five Hallasan trails.
This is the single most common mistake in English-language write-ups of Hallasan, so it is worth being blunt about. Of the five trails, only Seongpanak (9.6 km, 4h30) and Gwaneumsa (8.7 km, about 5h) reach the East Ridge summit and Baengnokdam. Yeongsil, Eorimok and Donnaeko all stop at Witse Oreum or Nambyeok Junction. There is no path from Nambyeok Junction to the summit — the south wall route is shut for rockfall risk — so you cannot start on Yeongsil and continue to the top, whatever a trip report may suggest.
What Yeongsil gives you instead is the high open landscape: the rock pillars, the plateau, the alpine grassland and, on a clear day, a long view over the layered oreum of Jeju's mid-mountain zone down to the coast. For a lot of hikers that is the better half-day, and it takes 2h30 rather than 9 hours. If you want the summit as well, plan a separate day for Seongpanak and book it. The full Hallasan hiking guide covers the reservation system.
The steep middle section of the trail runs below Yeongsil Giam, a cluster of weathered volcanic columns. They are known as Obaengnahan — the 500 Arhats, or in the popular telling the "500 Generals". The Jeju legend has a mother of 500 sons who fell into the porridge pot she was cooking for them; when the sons realised what they had eaten they turned to stone on the mountainside. Alongside the pillars is Byeongpungbawi, a broad cliff face named after a folding screen. This is the section that gives the trail its reputation, and it is also where the gradient bites — expect steps and boardwalk stairs for roughly the first hour.
The two summit trails are largely forest walks: on Seongpanak you climb through trees for hours and the view opens only near the top. Yeongsil starts above much of that. Within an hour you are on the ridge with the rock pillars beside you, and above 1,600 m the terrain turns into open alpine plateau — Seonjakjiwat — where nothing grows tall enough to block the view. In late spring the plateau fills with azaleas, in autumn it turns russet, and in winter it holds snow well. Roe deer are common and often unbothered by people. None of that is available on a summit-only itinerary in the same amount of walking.
Since 1 July 2024 every Hallasan trail opens at 05:00, every day. The cut-offs matter more than the opening time: if you have not passed the Yeongsil control post by the cut-off you are turned back, and staff clear the plateau at fixed times in the afternoon.
Take bus #240 from Jeju Bus Terminal — about 50 minutes. From Jungmun Rotary on the south coast the same #240 takes about 30 minutes. There is no official route listed from Jeju Airport, so you change at the terminal. Jeju reorganises its bus network fairly often, so confirm the route and timetable at bus.jeju.go.kr on the day. Remember to work out the last bus back before you start walking.
Set navigation to "Yeongsil Trail", Hawon-dong, Seogwipo-si. The catch here is the last stretch: the ticket office (management office) is 2.4 km below the Yeongsil rest area where the trail actually starts, and you either drive that road or walk it. If the upper car park is full you will be parking at the lower one and adding 2.4 km each way to your day. Parking is charged by time since January 2026: for a normal car, 1,000 KRW for the first hour, then 500 KRW per 20 minutes, up to 13,000 KRW a day, with the first 30 minutes free and 50% off for micro-cars and low-emission vehicles. There is no entrance fee for the park itself.
Witse Oreum Shelter at 1,700 m is staffed and has toilets, and it is where most people stop to eat. It does not sell anything. The high-altitude shops at Witse Oreum and Jindallaebat both closed in January 2018, and there is now no shop, no vending machine and no water dispenser anywhere on the upper mountain. Older posts still mention the cup noodles at Witse Oreum; they have not been available for years. The only shop on this route is at the Yeongsil rest area at the trailhead, which sells water, cup noodles, gimbap, noodles, gloves, rain ponchos and crampons — buy what you need there, before you start climbing.
For the summit trails, the reservation system, parking, buses and the current Gwaneumsa closure, see the full Hallasan (Mount Halla) hiking guide.
Q. Does the Yeongsil Trail reach the summit of Hallasan?
No. It ends at Witse Oreum (1,700 m) and Nambyeok Junction (1,600 m), and there is no connection from the junction to the top because the Nambyeok climbing route is closed for rockfall risk. Only the Seongpanak Trail (9.6 km, 4h30 one way) and the Gwaneumsa Trail (8.7 km, about 5h) reach the East Ridge summit and Baengnokdam, and both need a reservation for the summit section.
Q. Do I need a reservation for the Yeongsil Trail?
No. Yeongsil needs no reservation, and neither do Eorimok, Donnaeko, Eoseungsaengak or Seokguram. The Hallasan reservation applies only to the summit sections of Seongpanak (Jindallaebat to Baengnokdam) and Gwaneumsa (Samgakbong to Baengnokdam). You can simply turn up at Yeongsil during the entry window.
Q. How long does the Yeongsil Trail take?
About 2h30 one way for the full 5.8 km to Nambyeok Junction, or about 1h30 to Witse Oreum. Allow roughly 5 hours for a return walk to the junction, plus time at the top. Note that some sources say 3h15 one way — those measure from the Yeongsil ticket office, which is 2.4 km below the rest area where the trail actually starts.
Q. Can I buy water at Witse Oreum?
No. The shops at Witse Oreum and Jindallaebat closed in January 2018 and there is no shop, vending machine or water dispenser anywhere on the upper mountain. Witse Oreum Shelter is staffed and has toilets, but sells nothing. The shop at the Yeongsil rest area, at the trailhead, is the last place to buy anything.
Q. How do I get to Yeongsil without a car?
Bus #240 from Jeju Bus Terminal, about 50 minutes; the same route takes about 30 minutes from Jungmun Rotary. There is no direct official route from Jeju Airport, so change at the terminal. Check bus.jeju.go.kr on the day, since Jeju's routes are revised often, and check the last departure back before you start.