Autumn Attractions in Western Jeju — Silver Grass on an Oreum, Hallim Park, and Two Beaches Facing Biyangdo Island

If you are exploring western Jeju in autumn, Saebyeol Oreum, covered in silver grass, Hallim Park, with its palm tree road and lava caves, and Hyeopjae Beach and Geumneung Beach, which face Biyangdo Island, are worth looking at together. From silver grass on an oreum to the park's October flowers and the sea at sunset, each place has a different scene, so you can choose according to what you want to see that day.

Saebyeol Oreum — A Western Oreum Covered in Silver Grass in Autumn

Saebyeol Oreum is an oreum (volcanic cone) in Aewol in western Jeju, and it is counted as a representative oreum of the mid-mountain oreum area of western Jeju, where many oreums are gathered. Its name is said to come from the idea that it "stands alone like the morning star in the evening sky."

In autumn, silver grass blooms across the whole oreum, creating a beautiful landscape. With the southern peak as its highest point, ridges stretch to the southwest, northwest and northeast, and overall five peaks in a shape resembling a star are connected. Most of the oreum is grassland.

The summit is 519.3 m above sea level, and on a clear day you can look out over Jeju's western coast and Biyangdo Island from the top. Nearby are St. Isidore Farm and the so-called "Lone Tree," among others.

If you want to take in the autumn scenery created by silver grass, it is a place worth stopping by. The Jeju Tourism Organization's visitor information notes a caution about snakes and ticks, so please keep that in mind as well.

Hallim Park — Palm Tree Road, Lava Caves and October Cosmos

Hallim Park is a park arranged around nine themes, and it began in 1971 when palm seeds were sown in barren sandy land and tended there. On the palm tree road, created with palm trees and cacti, the palms grown from seeds planted in the sand back then now stand tall against the sky. The subtropical botanical garden has a palm garden, a tropical fruit greenhouse, a foliage plant greenhouse, a cactus greenhouse, an herb garden and an agave garden.

Hyeopjae Cave and Ssangyong Cave inside the park are combined caves in which limewater seeping through the ceiling and walls of a black lava tube is gradually turning it into a golden limestone cave. Although they are lava caves, stalagmites and stalactites grow inside, so they are designated and protected as natural monuments.

The wild herb garden is a place where, following the dol hareubang (stone grandfather statues) on both sides of its entrance, you reach a quiet path where wildflowers, plants endemic to Jeju and an ecological pond come together.

If you visit in autumn, news of the flowers is also worth watching. Hallim Park introduces, as its October flowers, red, pink and white cosmos blooming in the cosmos garden on the first path of the wild herb garden, and pink muhly grass that tints the flower beds by Hyeopjae Cave pink. Please check the condition of the flowers with Hallim Park before your visit.

It is a good fit for a day when you want to take your time looking around the palm tree road, the caves and seasonal flowers in one place.

Hyeopjae Beach — An Emerald Sea Facing Biyangdo Island

Hyeopjae Beach is a beach in Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, and is part of Route 14 of the Jeju Olle Trail. Together with Geumneung Beach, which is directly connected to it, it is often called the "twin beaches."

Its water is described as looking as if emerald paint had been slowly dissolved into clear water, and at low tide a bright sandy beach mixed with plenty of crushed shell powder stretches out a long way.

In front of the sea you can see Biyangdo Island, which resembles the drawing of a boa constrictor that swallowed an elephant in The Little Prince. The sunset falling over Biyangdo Island and the sea is also counted among the sights here.

Nearby attractions include Hallim Park and Geumneung Beach, so they are good to visit together, and there are also a number of cafés, restaurants and places to stay around the beach. It suits travelers who want to fit clear water, a sea with an island in view and the sunset into their plans.

Geumneung Beach — A Wide Sandy Beach Revealed When the Tide Goes Out

Geumneung Beach is in Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, and is directly connected to Hyeopjae Beach. The Jeju Tourism Organization recommends timing a visit to low tide, when the water goes out. When the sea recedes far out, a wide stretch of fine sand appears, and shallow natural pools sometimes form here and there.

Around sunset, you can wait for the glow that slowly spreads from Biyangdo Island. However, small crushed shells are mixed into the sand at the beach entrance, so wearing water shoes is recommended where possible.

If you want to calmly take in the widened sandy beach and the sunset glow in time with the tide, it is worth adding to your plans.

Before You Go

Here are the addresses of each place.

• Saebyeol Oreum: 제주특별자치도 제주시 애월읍 봉성리 산 59-8
• Hallim Park: 제주특별자치도 제주시 한림읍 한림로 300
• Hyeopjae Beach: 제주특별자치도 제주시 한림읍 협재리 2497-1
• Geumneung Beach: 제주특별자치도 제주시 한림읍 금능길 119-10

Information that may change, such as opening hours and conditions of use, should be checked once more with the Jeju Tourism Organization and Hallim Park before your visit.

If you would like to link autumn in the west, from oreums of silver grass to the sea at sunset, in the order you prefer, get a car for the road ready with Friends Rent-a-Car.