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Gayasan Hiking Guide 가야산

Gayasan (가야산) is a 1,433 m mountain in Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. It is one of Korea’s 100 Famous Mountains chosen by the Korea Forest Service. Best known for valleys and waterfalls, sea views, rocky ridges.

Gayasan mountain, Korea — Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3 (attribution, no modification)

1,433 mHeight

ModerateDifficulty (approx.)

3 h 30 minTrail time

−8.6°CSummit vs. base

🥾 Gayasan hiking trails

Cheongnyangdong (청량동) → Cheongnyangsa (청량사) → Neungseon Junction (능선삼거리) → Namsanjeilbong (남산제일봉) → Chiilli (치인리) 3 h 30 min

Times are from the Korea Forest Service and include short breaks. If you are new to hiking, plan for 1.3–1.5× longer. Korean names are in brackets so you can match them to trail signs.

🪨 Trail surface

Share of surveyed trail points by surface type. Lots of stairs or rock? Bring hiking poles and gloves.

rocky scree22%

stairs20%

paved19%

dirt path11%

bridges4%

rock ridge2%

other22%

Surface data: Korea Hiking & Trekking Support Center (data.go.kr)

🌅 Sunrise & sunset by month

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sunrise	07:37	07:16	06:40	05:56	05:23	05:10	05:22	05:46	06:09	06:33	07:03	07:30
Sunset	17:35	18:08	18:34	18:00	19:25	19:45	19:45	19:19	18:37	17:53	17:22	17:15

Around the 15th of each month, Korea Standard Time. Be off the mountain at least an hour before sunset.

🗺️ Maps

Naver Map · KakaoMap · Google Maps

⛰️ Other mountains nearby

Namhae-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do · 705 mGeumsan 금산

🙇 Hiking etiquette in Korea

Greet other hikers with a short “annyeonghaseyo” — it’s common on the trail.
Keep to the marked trail; many areas are closed for nature protection (fines apply in national parks).
Cooking, smoking and drinking are banned in national parks. Take your trash home.
Read more: Hiking etiquette in Korea

🇰🇷 한국어로 보기 (가야산 등산코스)

Data: Korea Forest Service (data.go.kr) · 100 Famous Mountains: Korea Forest Service · Locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors