Jeju Fantasy
Bicycle Path

Circle the Korea’s largest island.

Explore dormant volcanoes and active beaches.

The Jeju Fantasy Bicycle Path (제주환상 자전거길; map) follows coastal roads around Jeju Island (제주도; Jeju-do; map), which sits 80 kilometers south of the Korean peninsula.

Known as Korea’s island getaway, the cycling course around Jeju features endless geological sights, including seaside caves, waterfalls, beaches, and volcanic cones.

The Stats

Start
Jeju City
(제주시)

← 234 km →
15.5 hours

End
Jeju City
(제주시)

Bike Jeju City to Daejeong

From the island’s big city, cycle by beaches, offshore islands, and volcanic cones.

Bike Daejeong to Pyoseon

Ride along the bottom of Jeju Island and discover secluded beaches and groves.

Bike Pyoseon to Jeju City

Circle back to the big city and discover the island’s famed sleeping volcano.

Highlights

Discover the top highlights along the Jeju Fantasy Bicycle Path.

How to Get There

Find out how to take an airplane, ferry, or bus to and around the Jeju Fantasy Bicycle Path.

Jeju Island

Learn the history and geography of Jeju Island.

Bike Path Overview

The Nakdonggang Bike Path follows the Nakdong River (낙동강; Nakdonggang; map). Unlike the Ara, Hangang, and Saejae, it doesn’t begin where the previous bike path ends.

The cycling route starts 70 kilometers east of the Cross-Country Route in Andong City (안동시; map). It then travels west to Sangju City (상주시; map), where it meets the Saejae Bike Path.

The route continues south through Daegu City (대구시; map) and North and South Gyeongsan Provinces. It ends in Busan City (부산시; map), where the Nakdong River spills into the Korea Strait.

Most of the bike path tracks the Nakdong River’s gentle downward slope. However, two obstacles make the Nakdonggang challenging.

It measures 389 kilometers, the longest certification route. That’s 147 km more than the Gangwon Bike Path, the second longest.
The route features a handful of steep riverside mountain passes.

Let’s check the course, then look closer at the bike path’s hills and paths.

The Course

The Nakdonggang Bike Path has:

Two starting points.
One finish line.
And several parallel paths on opposite sides of the river.

Let’s break it down.

Are you riding the Cross-Country Route? Do you don’t want the Nakdonggang Bike Path Certification? Just want the Cross-Country certification?

Start the Nakdonggang Bike Path at Sangju Sangpung Bridge Certification Center, the final stamp booth on the Saejae Bike Path. Continue south to the Nakdonggang Estuary Bank, the last certification center in Busan City (directions).

Do you want to conquer the entire Nakdong River and get the Nakdonggang and Cross-Country certifications?

Start at the Andong Dam Certification Center in Andong City. It sits 70 kilometers upriver from the end of the Saejae Bike Path. Cycle west until you meet the Cross-Country Route. Then continue to Busan (directions).

Let’s skim Nakdonggang Bike Path’s five sections.

Andong to Sangju

Start upriver in Andong City (안동시; map), a depository of Korea’s old culture. Follow the Nakdong River west. Riding on a mix of bike paths and country roads, pass historic villages, academies, and pavilions.

End at Sangpung Bridge (상풍교; map) in Sangju City, where you’ll rejoin the Cross-Country Route.

Sangju to Gumi

The route from Sangju City (상주시; map) to Gumi City (구미시; map) runs south along the Nakdong River. The path passes major highlights, including weirs, natural wonders, and a bike museum.

End in downtown Gumi City, an advanced manufacturing hub.

Gumi to Daegu

The cycling course from Gumi to Daegu is the shortest along the Nakdonggang Bike Path. It connects two of the region’s most profitable cities, while passing weirs and war memorials.

End in an enormous park with architectural flair on the edge of downtown Daegu (대구시; map), Korea’s four largest city.

Daegu to Changnyeong

Off into the countryside.

The fourth leg of the Nakdonggang Bike Path presents the largest challenge. Amongst its high, winding ridgelines above the Nakdong, pass weirs and climb three mountain passes. From on top one summit, view a treasured Confucion academy.

Changnyeong to Busan

This last leg of the Nakdonggang Bike Path skips hills. Its vistas sweep along the wide Nakdong River as it meanders through waterside parks.

In Busan (부산시; map), Korea’s second largest city, the river spills into the Korea Strait, marking the end of the Cross-Country Route.

Municipalities

The Nakdonggang Bicycle Path crosses two provinces, two metropolitan cities, and 14 cities and counties. Check out these short profiles of each.

North Gyeongsang Province (경상북도; map) is one half of the old Gyeongsang Province. Its most famous city is Gyeongju. Known as Korea’s open-air museum, it was the capital of the peninsula under the Silla Dynasty (57 BCE ~ 935 CE). It claims countless ancient relics and museums. The largest province by area, the conservative region birthed several famous leaders and scholars, like Yi Hwang (이황; on the ₩1,000 bill).
- Andong City (안동시; map) is the capital and largest city in North Gyeongsang Province. Loaded with heritage, the city features a hanok village, and hosts a traditional Korean mask dance museum and performances.
- Yecheon County (예천군; map) has sat at the foot of the Sobaek Mountains for over a thousand years. A farming community famous for sesame oil, mulberry leaf tea, and apples, the county lost two-thirds of its population since the 60s.
- Sangju City (상주시 (map) was once a key settlement and transit hub during the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE ~ 668 CE). The city became a bicycle mecca in the early 1900s. Today, each Sangju household owns about two bikes, the highest rate in Korea. The city’s agriculture industry produces rice, persimmons, and silk.

More municipalities...

- Gumi City (구미시; map) holds some of Korea’s most advanced manufacturing and R&D facilities. Both Samsung and LG run factories in the city. The sprawling Geumo Mountain Provincial Park, with winding hiking trails, waterfalls, temples, and a cable car, nudges against downtown Gumi.
- Chilgok County (칠곡군; map) holds battle scars from different centuries. War scorched the area during the Imjin Wars (1592 ~ 1598) and the Korean War (1950 ~ 1953), where it sat on the Pusan Perimeter. The county resurrected and memorialized a bridge destroyed during the latter conflict.
Daegu Metropolitan City (대구광역시; map) is Korea’s fourth largest city. At one time, it was North Gyeongsang Province’s capital. It still serves as an economic engine for the region. Daegu’s industries include high-tech manufacturing, textiles and fashion, and nationally famed apples.
- Dalseong County (달성군; map) is a district within Daegu. Cut in two by the metro city’s downtown, the county accounts for half Daegu’s total area. Many of Dalseong’s residents own pocket-sized farms or serve in the military.
- Goryeong County (고령군; map) was the seat of one of the ancient Gaya Confederacy’s six city-states. Today, it’s one of Korea’s least populated counties. Local farmers grow strawberries and watermelons.
South Gyeongsang Province (경상남도; map) forms the lower half of the old Gyeongsang Province. It once contained the now self-governing Busan and Ulsan Metropolitan Cities, which extract and refine much of Korea’s oil. Today, the province’s cities and plentiful islands fish, farm, and build ships along the nation’s southeast coast.
- Hapcheon County (합천군; map) has a mountainous west that slopes downwards to eastern streams. Its Gaya Mountain National Park keeps Haeinsa Temple, one of Korea’s Three Jewels Temples.
- Uiryeong County (의령군; map) is one of the nation’s least populated, holding less than 30,000 people. However, it birthed two famous Koreans, including Gwak Jae-u, who fought Japan during the Imjin Wars, and Lee Byung-chul, founder of Samsung.
- Changnyeong County (창녕군; map) was an ancient city-state of the Gaya Confederacy. Its flat, arable land led to its early development. The county’s Upo Wetlands are the nation’s largest inland marsh.
- Haman County (함안군; map) was a Gaya Confederacy city-state. Mountains dominate its south. Fertile fields claim its northern regions near the Nakdong River. The county relies on its agriculture, producing famed watermelons, for which they hold an annual festival.
- Changwon City (창원시; map) is the Korea’s ninth largest city and the capital of South Gyeongsang Province. A “planned city” with plentiful parks, and separate manufacturing and residential areas, Changwon’s income comes from an industrial complex that focuses on heavy machines.
- Miryang City (밀양시; map), because of its location along the Nakdong River, served as an important stop along the Great Yeongnam Road during the Joseon Dynasty (1392 ~ 1897). Today, the high-speed KTX train, which runs from Seoul to Busan, also stops in the city.
- Yangsan City (양산시; map) wedges between the second and seventh largest cities in Korea: Busan in the south and Ulsan in the north. Because it’s a satellite city, Yangsan is growing fast with high-rise apartment buildings.
Busan Metropolitan City (부산광역시; map) is Korea’s second largest city. It lies on the southeastern tip of the peninsula. The city hosted the nation’s first international port in 1876. During the Korean War, because it was only one of two cities not captured, Busan became South Korea’s capital. Today, the city hosts many international conferences and events, like the annual Busan International Film Festival.

Elevation

The Nakdonggang Bike Path crawls along the Nakdong River’s gentle slope. But the cycling route presents a challenging collection of hills. Let’s explore the biggest ones.

Andong City Hills

Climb a pair of back-to-back hills west of downtown Andong City (안동시; map).

The first hill leaps from the banks of the Nakdong River and climbs to a 160-meter peak (directions).

Total Climb: a 74-meter ascent over 1.4 kilometers with a 5.3% average incline.

Three kilometers after the first climb, the route rides up a riverside mountain to a 141-meter top (directions).

Total Climb: a 52-meter ascent over 843 meters with a 6.2% average incline.

Gyeongcheondae Terrace Hill

On the west banks of the Nakdong, just before Gyeongcheondae Terrace, the bike path navigates razor-sharp switchbacks to a 119-meter summit (directions).

Total Climb: a 65-meter ascent over 495 meters with a 13.1% average incline.

You can avoid the hill by crossing to the east side of the Nakdong near Sangju Sangpung Certification Center. However, this route holds a 40-meter hill (directions).

Daramjae Pass

The bike path splinters into two routes near Dodong Seowon Confucian Academy (도동서원; map).

Follow a tunnel through the hillside and avoid a mountain pass (directions).
Use the “official route” and climb Daramjae Pass (다람재; map) below Jindeung Mountain (진등산; map).

While challenging, climb the Daramjae Pass and find an unbeatable 124-meter high view of the 400-year-old Confucian academy and its surroundings from a pavilion (directions; road view).

Total Climb: a 105-meter climb over 854 meters with a 12.3% average incline.

Musimsa Temple Hill

Want to catch a splendid view of the river from a colorful temple? Hop off the “official route” and tackle a hill that features Musimsa Temple (무심사; map).

The course winds up a rugged bike path to a 135-meter summit (directions).

Total Climb: 105 meters over 2 kilometers with a 5.5% average incline.

Bakjin Pass

Bakjin Pass (박진고개; map) sneaks under Jandeung Mountain (잔등산; map) in Uiryeong County. The Nakdonggang Bike Path’s steepest climb, it threads switchbacks to a 173-meter peak (directions).

Total Climb: 157 meters over 1.6 kilometers with a 9.8% average incline.

Stop at the viewing deck, grab a certification stamp, and glance out at the winding waterway (road view).

Yeongaji & Angaesil Passes

Soon after the Bakjin Pass, the route crosses back-to-back mountain passes: Yeongaji (영아지고개; map) and Angaesil (안개실고개; map).

Just outside Namji Town, climb to a 163-meter ridge under Docho Mountain (도초산; map; directions).

Total Climb: 149 meters over 1.6 kilometers with a 9.3% average incline.

The path along Yeongaji and Angaesil Passes consists of rugged cycling/hiking paths with pine needles scattered about (road view).

Bike Path Types

Korea’s longest certification path, the Nakdonggang Bike Path follows every type of pavement: bike-only paths, farmer access roads, country roads, hiking paths.

Let’s break down the pavement conditions section by section.