10 Best Natural Wonders in Pyeongchang

Phoenix Pyeongchang Snow Park is a resort that provides comfort to those who want to enjoy skiing and snowboarding, which are the best leisure sports in winter. Pyeongchang is famous for its beautiful winter scenery, but the snowy landscape of Phoenix Pyeongchang is particularly remarkable. If you reach the top of the Mont Blanc Slope at Phoenix Pyeongchang, you will be rewarded with a beautiful view of the snow-covered Baekdudaegan Mountain Range. You will even feel as if you are in a fantastic winter wonderland when you see snow mist made by snow-removing work.

Snow Park is also the stage where snow sport competitions were held during 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. You get a panoramic view of the snowy ski slopes from one of the many hotel rooms. In the morning, enjoy the buffet at the restaurant overlooking the ski slopes. In the afternoon, how about feeling the romance of winter in an open-air spa?

Odaesan National Park has one of the most famous mountains in the centre of the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range in Korea, and has been known as a sacred place for Buddhist faith since olden times. Seonjae-gil Trail on Odaesan Mountain, which stretches along the valley from Woljeongsa Temple to Sangwonsa Temple, is covered with varicoloured leaves in autumn. Most roads are covered with soft dirt and a flat deck, so you can walk at a leisurely pace.

At the end of Seonjae-gil, the Birobong course that leads to the top of Odaesan Mountain begins. If you walk along this road, you can reach Jeongmyeolbogung, which is a hermitage in the mountain of Sangwonsa Temple and designated as a treasure. If you go up the steep hill, you can see Jungdaesajaam, which guards Jeongmyeolbogung, looking down on the world. This place is deep and calm and you will feel like being embraced by gentle sunlight. Refresh yourself with nature after walking around Odaesan Mountain.

Samyang Ranch, which boasts a grand scale, is a place where vast meadows and huge windmills are in harmony. Beautiful wild flowers blooming in spring, the green pasture stretching out in summer, colourful autumn leaves turning in autumn, and a snow festival in winter attract tourists all year round.

When you arrive at the ranch by shuttle bus, you will be welcomed by the endless low hills behind the expansive meadows. Huge white windmills placed in rows on the meadows make the scenery even more exotic. When you go up to the Donghae Observatory, you can see the East Sea and downtown Gangneung under the blue sky. In addition, you will feel like your mind is filled with warmth when seeing the peaceful scenery with sheep grazing freely. Enjoy the beautiful nature, taking as many breaths of fresh air as you please.

Heungjeong Valley is a popular spot for summer vacations because of the abundant, clear and clean waters among the valleys of Gangwon-do. Clean water flows in the clean valley with a lively current in a dense forest. It is a good place to laze around in the nearby pension complex for a day.

There are many marsh snails in the valley so that even young children can easily catch them. You can quickly forget about the heat once you look at the waterfall. It is actually cool enough to feel the cold early in the morning because of the high elevation. If you spend a night at a campsite, you can fall asleep under the starry night sky in the deep valley. If you want to get away from the sweltering heat in midsummer and enjoy a cool summer vacation, going to Heungjeong Valley is recommended.

Baengnyong Cave Ecology Centre is a limestone cave in Pyeongchang, where you can experience primeval nature. You can see the mystical views of the dark cave while wearing exploration gear and using a search light. It is said that no lighting was installed so that people can appreciate its primitive state.

You can see many kinds of cave formations including stalactite, stalagmite and stone pillars. You will be able to experience something different from the usual because of the many bizarre-shaped cave formations. You can explore all around the cave by passing through narrow spaces and discovering things crawling. At the grand square where the cave ends, you can experience a state of darkness by turning off all the head lanterns. You will be able to spend some special time that is difficult to have anywhere else, feeling only your presence in the dark.

Hyoseok Forest is a literary park and also a trail where you can feel the charm and literary elegance of Lee Hyo-seok’s novels in nature. As you enter the entrance, a large stone engraved with the first verse of “When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom” welcomes you.

If you stroll along the trails while reading passages from the novel, you will soon find the site that became the background of the novel. Regardless of whether you have read the book or not, you will fall into the world of the novel when you see the marketplace in the novel, the Chungjujip where the characters used to drink unrefined rice wine (makgeolli) and the waterwheel. When you take a walk through the forest in the fresh air, you will feel that your heart, which is tired of living in the city, becomes filled with lyrical and warm emotions. Take time to meditate in a pleasant forest.

Farm Herbnara is the nation’s first herb-themed farm. Opened in 1993, it’s a famous spot amid wonderful nature with clear water. For more than 20 years, the farm went through some difficult times due to natural disasters, but it has constantly developed to this day, always showing a new side.

When crossing the Cheonghyanggyo Bridge across the Heungjeong Valley and entering the forest, you can smell the refreshing scent of herbs. From the moment you step foot inside, a cute herb farm awaits you. There is a garden in the shape of a palette used for painting, and then on the right, a romantic garden is arranged with a beautiful exotic building in the centre. In the herb flower field spreading out along the valley, all kinds of various herb flowers repeatedly bloom and fall from May to September, providing beautiful scenery. Fill your heart with the scent of fresh herbs at Farm Herbnara.