Planning to hike Hallasan? Don't hit the trails until you know if you're chasing solitude or shared victory, because your experience will be wildly different.
I’ve hiked Hallasan two ways. The first was solo, on a crisp spring morning where the only sounds were my own breathing and the wind whistling through the bamboo. The second was with three friends, an experience that involved more complaining, more laughing, and a questionable amount of shared gimbap. They were two completely different mountains.
People always ask me which is better, and the honest answer is that it depends entirely on what you’re looking for. One is a meditation; the other is a party. One is about freedom; the other is about shared victory. So before you book that reservation (and you absolutely need a reservation for the summit), let’s break down what you’re actually getting yourself into.
🧍 Solo Hike
- 🎟️Booking: A breeze. Just snag one open slot for yourself.
- 💰Cost: Your own gear, food, and bus fare. No splitting rental car costs.
- ⏰Best Time: A weekday morning. You'll have entire sections of the trail to yourself.
- 💡Key Tip: Your flexibility is your superpower. Wait for a perfect weather day to go.
- 📍Start Here: Yeongsil Trail. It's shorter, steeper, and has views that will blow your mind without the 8-hour summit commitment.
👥 Group Trek
- 🎟️Booking: A nightmare. Coordinating and booking multiple slots at once is a competitive sport.
- 💰Cost: Cheaper transport. Splitting a rental car makes getting to the trailhead way easier.
- ⏰Best Time: Weekend. The energy is infectious and bus services (like the winter Snow Flower Bus) are expanded.
- 💡Key Tip: Designate roles. One person is the pace-setter, one carries the extra water, one is the official photographer.
- 📍Start Here: Seongpanak Trail. It's the classic, less steep route that's manageable for mixed fitness levels.
The Solo Hike: A Masterclass in Pace and Patience
Going up Hallasan alone is about control. You stop when you want, for as long as you want. You can spend ten minutes trying to get the perfect shot of a deer (노루) without anyone tapping their foot. You can sit and eat your gimbap an hour in because you feel like it. The mountain is yours.
My solo trip was on the Yeongsil Course (영실 코스). It’s not a summit trail, but honestly, the views are more dramatic. You get past the tree line faster and are greeted by these incredible rock formations called Byeongpungbawi (병풍바위) that look like a giant folding screen. The hike up to the Witseoreum (윗세오름) area is a solid workout, but it’s a 4-hour round trip, not an all-day affair. Perfect for someone who wants the epic scenery without sacrificing their entire day.
The best part? The quiet. You hear things. The rustle of the short bamboo (Jorittae) that lines the path. The specific calls of birds you’d never notice with a chatty group. It feels less like a workout and more like a pilgrimage.
The Group Trek: Misery Loves Company (and Shared Snacks)
Hiking with friends is chaos, but it’s beautiful chaos. Someone will forget their water. Someone will complain their legs hurt after the first 20 minutes. You will hike at the pace of your slowest member. And it’s still fantastic.
For our group hike, we tackled the Seongpanak Course (성판악 코스), the only realistic option for a group with varying levels of hiking enthusiasm. It’s a long, steady slog—about 9.6 km to the top, taking a solid 4.5 hours up and another 4 down. It’s not as visually stunning as other trails for the first few hours, mostly just forest paths, but the goal is Baengnokdam (백록담), the summit crater lake.
The magic of the group hike happens at the Jinadallaebat Shelter (진달래밭 대피소). This is where everyone collapses, pulls out their food, and the real bonding begins. You trade snacks, you laugh about how tired you are, and you collectively decide to push through the final, brutal stretch to the summit. Reaching the top and seeing the crater (if you're lucky and it's not fogged over) feels like a team victory. You earned it together.
The Logistics That Actually Change Your Day
First, the Booking Battle
This is the biggest divider. If you want to see the summit crater, you must use the Seongpanak or Gwaneumsa trails. Both require a free online reservation, and they fill up instantly. Reservations for the next month open on the first business day of the current month, and it's like trying to get concert tickets. For a solo hiker, it’s manageable. For a group of four? Good luck getting four slots on the same day unless you are poised over your keyboard the second they go live.
Trails like Yeongsil and Eorimok don’t require reservations, which makes them far better for spontaneous solo trips or less-organized groups.
Getting There is Half the Fun (or Frustration)
As a solo hiker, the bus system is your friend. The 240 bus runs along the routes connecting the trailheads. In winter, they even run a special "Snow Flower Bus" to handle the crowds. It's cheap and efficient.
For a group, forget it. Just rent a car. Trying to coordinate four people onto a bus that comes every 50-90 minutes is a recipe for a fight. With a car, you can get there early, which you absolutely must do. The Seongpanak parking lot is full by 7 AM on a weekend. Parking is now hourly, with a daily max that seems to be either 8,000 KRW or 13,000 KRW depending on who you ask, but the point is, get there early or prepare to park a kilometer down the road.
Post-Hike Plans: Collapse and Refuel
After 8 hours on a mountain, your body will hate you. How you recover depends on your crew.
My solo-hike self craved peace. I booked a massage at IRe Aroma in Jeju City. It's a 10-minute drive from the airport, open until 3 AM, and they know exactly how to deal with post-Hallasan legs. It was the perfect way to knead the exhaustion out before a quiet dinner.
My group-hike self wanted a feast. We went straight for Jeju black pork (근고기). There’s nothing like the sizzle of thick-cut pork belly over charcoal to celebrate not dying on a mountain. We descended on a place called Udo Geungogi and ordered way too much food. It was loud, greasy, and glorious—the perfect end to a group adventure.
Of course, you could also just grab some incredible seafood at Dongmun Market. A plate of fresh raw shrimp (딱새우) for 15,000 KRW is a pretty solid reward.
So, should you go it alone or with your friends? If you want to feel the scale and spirit of the mountain, go solo. You’ll come back feeling centered and accomplished in a way that’s hard to describe. If you want a memory that you’ll be laughing about for years, bring your friends. The struggle up is part of the story, and the view from the top is better when you have someone to share it with.
My Two Cents
The most magical solo moment I had was taking the small detour to Saraoreum lake off the Seongpanak trail. The main path was busy, but for 15 minutes by the water, I was completely alone. That kind of profound silence is something you can only find by yourself.
With a group, the best part is, without a doubt, the cup noodle break at the shelter. It’s objectively just mediocre instant ramen, but after three hours of climbing in the cold, sharing that steaming, salty broth feels like a five-star meal. It’s a moment of pure, shared relief and joy.