Gapyeong travel info

Gapyeong is a county on the Bukhan River, about an hour from Seoul by train. It's roughly 1.4 times the size of Seoul and almost all mountain and valley, so the sights don't cluster in the town; they're strung out along the river.

Get off the ITX-Cheongchun at Gapyeong Station and the Nami Island ferry wharf is a 20-minute walk away. The boat ride takes five minutes, and the admission ticket already includes the round-trip fare, so you buy one ticket at the booth and you're set. On the island, rows of metasequoia trees shoot straight up along the main path, and in October the whole lane turns autumn colours. Back near town, Jara Island sits in the middle of the river and hosts a jazz festival every year in early October. In the hills, the valley trails of Myeongjisan and Yeoninsan fill with foliage, and in winter the Eobi Valley waterfall freezes white.

Dinner is usually dakgalbi with a bowl of buckwheat noodles on the side, or a hot pot of tofu made with ground pine nuts. There's even a makgeolli brewed with them. Most people come for the day, but buses thin out fast beyond the town, so for the Morning Calm Arboretum or the mountain valleys, sort out the city tour bus, a taxi or a rental car beforehand.

From Seoul by train (Gapyeong Station) (ITX)

By bus (from Seoul and the airports) (BUS)

To the Nami Island wharf (FERRY)