[Daegu Travel] Palgong Mountain 팔공산

Hello Everyone! In preparation for the beautiful fall season we are introducing the best place in Daegu to experience the colors of autumn: riding the cable cars at Palgong Mountain!

Palgong Mountain (or Palgongsan) is the Daegu area’s most well mountain that sits on the Northern border of the city and south of North Gyeongsan province. The mountain is the site of a number of cultural and natural heritage sites including Buddhist shrines including Donghwasa and Gunwi Triad Budda Grotto, which is also a National Treasure. It is a popular place for Daegu citizens to go on the weekend, and one of the best places in Korea to see the changing autumn leaves. Due to the vast size of the mountain, reaching 1193 meters above sea level, there are numerous trails and pathways to reach the top of Palgong mountain.

Today we will be introducing the perfect date course for couples. Say, you want to enjoy the mountain scenery, but dreading the long hike up? Never fear! We will be showing you an easy and feet friendly way up the mountain.   

But before we head up the mountain we will start our adventure by… eating! 

Although people traditionally save eating yummy foods and celebrating the end of the climb at the top of the mountain, we recommend eating at the bottom of the mountain because it is a more economical option. Most of the restaurants you will embark upon on the way to ride the cable cars are traditional Korean restaurants that sell samgyetang (chicken soup with a delicious broth made from ginseng and other healthy herbs), jjim dak (steamed chicken), and pajeon (a pancake style dish made with green onions).

Just looking at the food will make your mouth water.

As pictured above, spicy jjimdak and pajeon with a side of makgeolli (rice wine) make a heavenly combination.

Now, since we’ve filled up or stomachs shall we make our way to the cable cars?

The rates for riding the cable cars is pictured above. There is a price increase of 1,000KRW after October 1st, but a round trip cost of 9,000KRW sounds reasonable enough!

After buying tickets there will be helpful signs that lead you up to the Sky Garden, where the cable cars are located.

Hold on one second!

Do you see what I see?

If you keep your ticket and come back within six months you are eligible for a 20% discount, now that’s a good deal!

Now shall finally we make our way to the top?

Although a wonderful sight to see from the cable car, it is very high up and can be a bit dizzying for those with a fear of heights!

At last the cable car reaches its destination and here we are at the top of the mountain! These scary looking wooden figures called, jangseung, greet all of the visitors to the top. Jangseung are traditional Korean totem poles that usually stand at the entrance of villages. 

Although we wanted to take a look at the breath taking sight of a sprawling city of Daegu at the top of the mountain, we chose a cloudy and foggy day to visit so we were not able to see the skyline. Despite this setback, however, there were also many other things to explore at the top.

One of Palgongsan’s attractions at the top of the mountain is “Love Road.” The entrance of Love Road, is pictured above, pretty isn’t it? This road is the perfect place for couples to show their commitment to each other and make lovey-dovey promises for a lasting relationship through various contemporary Korean traditions.

One of those traditions is buying a lock, writing your and your significant other’s name and/or message on the lock and then securing it onto designated areas as pictured above and throwing the key down the mountain to signify an unbreakable and ever lasting relationship.
Locks are available for purchasing at a shop called Mountain Blue nearby!

Picture time! A chance to pose for a pretty picture here.

Instead of throwing the key down the mountain however, Palgongsan has a different tradition. See that scary looking tiger in the picture above? To be more specific, it is a key eating tiger. After locking your lock, throwing the key in the tiger’s mouth will ensure a lasting relationship.

After looking through the locks, we can even see that foreigner couples have come by to express their love for one another.

There are of course other interesting sights to see as you make your way around the top of Palgong Mountain pictured below.

And last but not least, we come to Mountain Blue, a structure that makes you wonder how it was built on the top of the mountain. Inside Mountain Blue is a restaurant and cafe for mountain climbers and cable car riders to recharge their energy before heading back down the mountain.

Picture above is the food menu and prices for what you can eat at Mountain Blue.

As we mentioned before, the food here is a little pricey. Be immediately see a price jump as pajeon at the bottom of the mountain was 7000KRW but here it is 9000KRW.

I guess guess we have to assume that running a restaurant at the top of the mountain can be expensive. It is a loved tradition of Koreans to have pajeon and makkeolli after a good climb, so it should be worth the money, right?

The café also sells a variety of coffee. How does a relaxing cup of coffee after reaching the top of the mountain sound to you?

Although there are many other ways to enjoy visiting Palgong Mountain, we hope that you will find this route useful for your trip to Daegu! Safe travels!