Hiking Under Surveillance along Seoul Fortress Wall

Trekking the Seoul Fortress Wall is one of those “naturey” things you can do without leaving the city. The stone wall goes in a large loop and connects the four mountains surrounding the center of Seoul: Bugak-san to the north, Nak-san to the east, Nam-san to the south, and Inwang-san to the west. It was built back in 1396 and runs for more than 18km. We hiked the stretch from Waryong Park to Changuimun Gate, heading westward for probably 3km.

If you remember, we hiked another wall back in April, at Namhansanseong Fortress. Aside from the fact that they’re both fortress walls, I wouldn’t even compare the two experiences.

Seoul Fortress Wall, for one thing, offers really great views of the city. The weather was perfect that day, sunny and clear skies. Everything was green now, too. This path is also better maintained and mostly paved. Sure, there are some stretches of dirt you can walk along if you prefer, but if your goal is to walk along the wall itself, you’ll mainly be climbing concrete and wooden steps. Namhansanseong felt more woodsy and natural.

Probably the biggest difference is that this particular stretch of the hike took us “behind” — north of — the presidential Blue House of South Korea, located at the base of Bugak-san (as you can see below).

Where to go for spectacular views of Seoul

For my birthday this weekend, Will took me to some of the best spots for viewing Seoul at night. It was 19 degrees out and we were on foot, of course, but we like adventures!

We started with a tasty (and fancy) dinner at Top Cloud Restaurant, which is located on the 33rd floor of the very modern and cool-looking Jongno Tower. They have a buffet option, or regular dining option. We picked dining, which apparently consists of a French cuisine. (They also had live music.) The food was “different,” but tasty like I said. My first time eating oyster…ah! Our starters also included lobster carpaccio (aka raw) and some other seafood, was hard to tell what was what on the plate. The meal was great, the views were amazing and Will surprised me with chocolate cake. He knows me.

Top Cloud Restaurant – When you exit from the elevator. 33rd floor.

View by the elevators.

Buffet dining area.

Oyster and pear(l).

Had some chianti.

Seafood starters.

Dinner and a view. I believe I had cod with sweet potato puree.

Birthday cake.

Foot bridge to cross from the buffet to the dining side.

Views from the foot bridge. 33 floors up!

Amazing views.

From there, Will took me for a ride on the Namsan Cable Car, which runs from the base of Mt. Namsan to the base of N Seoul Tower.