Jeju Island has this thing called “
Olle Trails” to help travelers organize their tour in the island. These Olle Trails provide a walking path for the tourists that would take them to the must-visit places in Jeju. I haven’t tried all the Olle Trails but I was able to walk on the
Oedolgae trail. This was part of our itinerary during our trip to Jeju, since we only have limited time in the Island, obviously there’s no way finishing all the olle trails. Accordingly, the Oedolgae trail is the most interesting one, so for those who do not have ample time to explore Jeju, it is recommended to choose the Oedolgae trail as a priority.
So what can we see in this trail? From the parking area of Oedolgae, you can witness breathtaking view from the top. The crystal blue sea with scattered islets sticking out of the water will welcome you. I could stay on that spot forever just absorbing the wonderful view of nature but there’s a lot more to see in the area.
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| One of the islands you can see at the top of Oedolgae trail |
From the top, there’s a wooden stair that you must follow. It was a little bit crowded that time because there were almost 90 of us went to the trail plus other tourists and locals. Climbing down the steep wooden stair was quite a challenge because of the crowd but the cool breeze and the wonderful view helped a lot.
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| Following the road to the wooden path and stairs of the trail |
The trail has a lot of directions to follow, we decided to climb down further and that stair led us to the most beautiful pool I’ve ever seen in my entire life. This place is called the Hwanguji Coast or commonly known as the Natural pool. It was surrounded by rocks and people can just jump from the cliff, snorkel, swim or just soak into the cold water of the natural pool. The area is too rocky though, so going there may take some time and challenging too.
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| The rocky way to the Natural Pool |
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| People enjoying swimming at the natural pool |
Since we only have one hour to explore the place, we decided to go to the other areas of the trail. So we climbed up to the wooden stair again and went to the other side of the trail, and we found this beautiful cliff where we felt the cool breeze from the sea. The view from the cliff was something that I could still remember as the years go by. The rock formation at the coastal area is a masterpiece, this and other unique and distinct forms of rock in the island are the obvious manifestations that Jeju is indeed a volcanic Island.
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| One of the many interesting rock formation in the island |
The star of Oedolgae trail though is no other than this thing they call The Lonely Rock Pillar. In fact, Oedolgae literally means Lonely Rock and they named this trail after this very interesting and intriguing rock. The problem is, I couldn’t show a photo of the rock because I was not able to visit it due to time constraints. I know that the lonely rock was supposed to be the highlight of the trail, but I don’t want to be left by our tour bus either. I regret for not seeing the Lonely Rock but at least I was able to fully enjoy the beauty of the other aspects of Oedolgae trail. Maybe next time, if I can go back to Jeju, I will visit the Lonely Rock and other areas of Olle Trail. But that was a fun and challenging walk, and of course, memorable too.
If you’re curious how the Oedolgae or Lonely Rock looks like, here’s a photo from Visit Korea website:
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