This day was one of the most exciting and packed days whilst I was on Jeju-do island. With it being the only completely full day, we knew we had to see as much as possible. The first thing we decided to do on the day was to climb Hallasan or as much as we could, weather permitted (a UNESCO world heritage site). After managing to organise a taxi lift to one of the trail start points up the mountain, we became friends with the taxi driver who agreed to take us round all the major must-see spots on the south coast after the Hallasan climb. We agreed to pay a very reasonable amount that would allow him to stay with us throughout the day (I would strongly recommend this to anyone who decides to spend a few days in Jeju-do). When we arrived at the trail start the taxi driver decided to climb with us. Having been born and raised in Jeju-do he had climbed Hallasan many times and had all the relevant gear in the trunk of his car, some of which he lent to us, including walking sticks. So we began our upward adventure.
We were not blessed with the weather (as you can tell by the raincoat and the grey sky!). Nonetheless, there were some breath-taking views and the air was undeniably fresh and clean, unlike the London air that I am used to. The third photo below is of us posing with the taxi driver!
Unfortunately, the weather turned worse and prevented us from reaching the top of Hallasan. However, we were determined to reach the ramen hut! This was a stop off point before the top that allowed people to take a break and eat ramen (maximum 2 pots per person) or snacks before continuing their upward trek. For us, it was a break before finding our way back to the taxi and the driver who began his descent earlier due to the torrential rain.
Once we safely got back to the car we went straight to our next destination, Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff. The stone pillars were created when lava from Hallasan mountain erupted into the sea of Jungmun. There were many high school kids on geography trip who had come to see the same geographical features.
Last but not least was my favourite stop of the day, Cheonjeyeon waterfalls! This translates to 'the pond of god' and consists of several ponds and waterfalls which lead on from one another. It was absolutely spectacular to see every aspect of the falls. The first picture below is of one of the waterfalls from a distance before we took a closer look. When we reached the starting point of the falls I was taken away by the colour of the water- a deep, rich, turquoise that I had never seen in my life.
After being mesmerised by the view for an hour, we went on a walk to explore the rest of the waterfalls...
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