Time of the visit: 29th of oct.-1st of nov.,2025

Jeju Island is a volcanic island located off the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. Formed by volcanic activity over 1.2 million years, it is dominated by Hallasan Mountain, South Korea's highest peak. The island is renowned for its unique volcanic landscape, including lava tube caves, parasitic volcanoes (Oreum), and a dramatic coastline. Its natural beauty and geological significance earned it the UNESCO crown.

The UNESCO listing comprises three core sites, which together showcase the unique geological history and beauty of the island.The UNESCO designation protects and highlights the three core components that tell the story of Jeju's volcanic birth: the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System (showcasing subterranean volcanic processes), Seongsan Ilchulbong (showcasing a hydrovolcanic eruption off the coast), and Mount Hallasan (the central, primary volcano that built the island itself)

1. Geomunoreum Lava Tube System


The Manjanggul Lava Tube is closed till the end of 2025 for infrastructure maintenance measures.

2. Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone

A fortress-like volcanic crater that rises sharply from the ocean.

I visited it on October 29, 2025. I took the bus from Jeju City's bus station, which took ages to get to the nearby bus stop there. When I got to the top, I took a few photos, rested for 10 minutes and went down again. The tuff stone Cathedral didn't impress me in the slightest way. When I got back downstairs, I briefly looked at the tourist spectacle around the famous female derp sea divers. Pretty unimpressed by all the things I had seen, I spontaneously decided to take the nearby ferry to Udo Island, a potential extension of the Jeju World Heritage.I went from one ferry port to the next as you can take any ferry with the return ticket from both ferry ports there. The Udo Island is quite touristy but quieter than the partially overcrowded and overtouristy Jeju. Then I walked back to the rock and looked at both accessible sides of the stone fortress. The bus to and from Jeju City goes every few minutes ... but I forgot that it only goes about every half hour from around 18.00 on... I had to wait 20 minutes at the bus stop.


3. Mount Hallasan

This is the central, shield volcano that forms the bulk of Jeju Island. It is South Korea's highest mountain (1,947 m) and is considered the primary volcano from which the entire island was formed.
I had been so busy on the Korean mainland the days before that I forgot to reserve my hike online in advance. I was unlucky, all the time slots for the next few days were fully booked.There are 4 main trails at Hallasan. Out of which 2 go to the top which have to be reserved beforehand,the Seongpanak Trail (longer,but easier,9.6 km,my original plan was to walk this trail up and the Gwaneumsa Trail down) and the Gwaneumsa Trail (steeper and tougher,8.7km).

The Eorimok trail (3.7km) and the Yeongsil Trail (2.7km) are easy to walk on.I walked them with sandals.It was dry,sunny and mild.No booking is required for neither of the aforementioned two trails.There are checkpoints that you have to reach up to a specified time, otherwise you won't be let through. Bus 240 departs from Jeju City to both trailheads, First to the Eorimak one, then to the Yeongsil one. You should leave as early as possible, although I only took the second earliest bus myself, which was relatively empty at the bus station, but filled up on the other stops. The last two trails can be combined well. I strongly recommend starting with the Eorimak Trail. Why? 1) The bus stop is only a few minutes walk from the trailhead, 2)The Yeongsil bus stop is almost 2 km from the trail head.. Slightly downhill from the trail but uphill from the bus stop. 3) The bus back to Jeju City is relatively empty at the Yeongsil stop but gets packed at the Eorimak stop. And nobody wants to stand on the bus for 45 minutes after hours in the mountains.

I was in good shape and much faster than the average Korean hiker, almost all running with professional equipment. I reached the mountain station (toilets, rest areas, first aid) ,where the paths separate, very early. A third way, the Donaeko Course leads to the summit's feet but not on it. open until 13:00. I took it to get even closer to the summit... After about 45 minutes I turned around and went down the Yeongsil trail.At times both trails were quite scenic,but very often monotonous and boring.I enjoyed my hike in the Namsan mountain near Gyeongju more.It wasnt disappointing,but fell short of my high expectations.Quite overrated,the Mount Hallasan IMO. It for sure doesn't play in Iceland',the Fareoer Islands',or the Azores' league.

All in all the Jeju Island was not my highlight during my Korea trip, far from it.

I also visited the Stone Park( highly recommended ),the Yongduam Rocks( totally overrated) ,the Gwamu beach ( the coastal walk from the Gonae Port to the beach was my personal highlight on the Jeju Island) ,and discovered the island' s capital and its sights pretty well.

Jeju Island and its world heritage components fell short of my high expectations....I didnt have a single magical or breathtaking moment on the island..... Nice,but nothing more.And looking back I can honestly say that I enjoyed the long coastal walk more than the visited unesco components there.