A beautiful day for a hike in nature. The Jangtaesan Recreational Forest just south of Daejeon is perfect for such a ‚Forest Adventure‘. Various hiking paths and facilities like tree top walks, view tower or suspension bridge invites for exploring the nature there. But it wouldn’t be called ‚recreational forest‘ without having a picnic area under the trees with relaxing chairs and coffee facilities.
A „must see“ when in South Korea is the DMZ, the demilitarized zone on the border with North Korea.
On the way there was a stop at the Majang Reservoir Suspension Bridge. Just enough time for a nice stroll in the cool, fresh air of the morning.
Just before the DMZ is a place called Imjingak. A touristic place for foreign and domestic tourists alike. It tells the story of a border town, which supposed to be not. And it also has carry still some hope, that the unused railway tracks and bridge are connecting the people of north and south one day again.
(stay tuned for the next post, inside the DMZ)
It was already late afternoon, when i had another stop on my route trough the famous Taroko Gorge. Here i noticed a start of an hiking trail. Spontaneously i grabbed my camera and went on the path. It’s an easy going hike for approximately 3km each way. A broad path followed a river and was quite leveled. Even some tunnels were made to avoid steep bypasses. The only danger was the fallen rocks, which is not uncommon, as one can see along the way.
Just before reaching the waterfall of Baiyang, a suspension bridge has to be pass over an impressive gorge. Unfortunately the waterfall is rather a trickle, despite the rain from day before. I did expect more to be frankly. At least i had a nice chat with a doctor from Taipei, who offered me to take a picture from in front of that waterfall. Instead i asked her to join me on the selfie.
A signpost pointed to a tunnel, which lead to a stormy sound in the dark. To my surprise water streams from the ceiling of the tunnel, created a curtain of water falling to ground and flows in a stream towards the light on the end of tunnel. What an amazing spectacle. This hike was really paying off, latest with this final. Taroko Gorge will stay in good remembering for sure.
rene bauer photography 