The Great Chiakson Mountain
Like I have always said, I am a nature lover by heart, and anytime I get a chance to be close to it, I never miss the opportunity. If you were following my previous blogs you would remember that I am a city boy far away from mountains and beaches and to live around it has always been a dream. I am lucky to be posted near Wonju city, which is covered by mountains and beaches all around. A city not only famous for its old cultural heritage of Korea , but also a tourist attraction for winter sports. When I visited Korea, I thought I am the only fat person around and always thought of what makes the majority here slim and skinny. Well soon I jumped into Korean culture, and found how thousands of people leave their beds early in the morning on the weekends for mountain climbing ,when I am actually trying to shut my crying alarm off . The mountain climbing is not only restricted to climbing alone but also has a complete gymnastic made on the top of most of the Korean mountains where you can stretch out and warm yourself up. I heard long time before from my grandfather that you can look at the world from a mountain or from a rat hole! Most people do the second!. But I chose the first.
Anyways leaving behind the health benefits and jumping on my actual topic is the famous Chiakson Mountain of Korea . Chiakson is famous for its rich flora and fauna with a total of 821 species consisting of plants also and a home to 2,364 animal species including 34 endangered species .Located in the mountain inland of Korea, it’s total area is about 181.6 km and east of its highest peak, Birobong(1,288m), lies hoengseong-gun and to the west is Wonju-si, Chiaksan has many steep valleys among its high peaks ranging above 1,000m such as Namdaebong in the south and maehwasan in the north, and it is know for having a beautiful scenic figure with steep slopes and has also been a source of very popular berries and some medical herbs . You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other like an explorer. It was not late enough when I found a stream of water flowing between the rocks close to a beautiful and very famous Buddhist temple.
Buddhist temples are quite popular in Korea, Buddhism being one of the religions in majority after Christianity. I am from India, also called “thecountry of Temples”, so encountering temples on my way was not so different to me. However a closer look at the famous Buddhist temple and the divine statue of Lord Buddha, mesmerizes most of the people there . Beautifully and carefully designed temple has a marvelous architecture and surprisingly the complete temple is made of wood joints, without any nails or metal being used. Chiakson popular among all, also has a national park where you can plan a weekend picnic in the midst of nature if you are feeling too lazy to climb a mountain. And if you are one those climbers , make sure you carry the complete mountain essentials with you , like the hiking shoes , a backpack ,some food and importantly a torch and first aid . Being one of the highest peak, the journey is honestly not an easy one, but believe me once you reach the top all your tiredness will go away by the breathtaking view of “The Chiakson Mountain”.