 | The entrance city for Mount Sorak National Park is the sea port of Sokcho in the northeast corner of South Korea. It is a modern city with a busy harbor area. Mount Sorak National Park is in the mountains in the background, Mount Sorak being the highest point. This picture was taken from the Sokcho Lighthouse.
 | Sokcho, being a sea port, has lots of fresh fish restaurants along the harbor. Here at one of the restaurants, Sue checks out the variety of fish, squid, octopus, shellfish, and other delicacies that you can order either raw or cooked.
 | Mount Sorak National Park is an area of steep, granite cliffs; densely forested slopes; deep, V-shaped valleys containing rivers and waterfalls; and numerous trails, bridges, temples, and concession stands.
 | The trail to Piryong Waterfall is wide, easy to follow, and shaded by deciduous trees. This is typical of the trails near the entrance area, where they are well used. As distances from the park entrance increase, the trails become narrower, more rocky, and steeper.
 | On the way to Piryong Waterfall, the trail passes beside Yuktam Waterfall (actually a cascade, rather than a waterfall). The bedrock in the park is a light pinkish-gray granite.
 | Piryong Waterfall spills into a large, deep pool at its base. The pink and yellow colors coming from the granite contrast beautifully with the green of the forest.
 | The Sorak Cable Car goes from the park entrance area to near the top of a mountain called Kwongumsong. From the upper cable car station (red arrow) a trail leads on up to the top of the mountain (green arrow). Another trail goes left from the cable car station to Allak Temple, which has a commanding view of the valley below and the East Sea (Sea of Japan is not used by Koreans).
 | From the cable car station. There are good views of the valley below, the city of Sokcho, the eastern coast of South Korea and, in the mist beyond, the East Sea.
 | Because it was Sunday, many South Koreans were visiting the park, riding the cable car, and climbing to the top of the mountain. The wait to get on the cable car was over an hour. This picture shows the crowd of people near the top of the mountain and Sue (red arrow) making her way up. Actually, the highest point was very difficult to achieve and most people, along with Sue and me, settled for wandering around in this area near the top.
 | From the upper cable car station, is a good view of the park entrance area at the end of the road. The first building on the right is a restaurant and next to it is a large Buddha. Past the Buddha, the river divides into two tributaries. The left tributary and trail leads to the Chonbuldong Valley, the subject of the next web page. The right tributary and trail leads past the Shinhung Temple to Ulsanbawi, the subject of the third web page.
| | | | | | | | | |
