Jeju Island (Seogwipo) - Day 141
Trip Start
Jan 31, 2008
1
97
251
Trip End
Ongoing
Seogwipo,
Jeju Island,
Korea Rep.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
When I arrived in Jeju I headed straight for the Manjanggul lava tube system by bus. The lava tube is the longest in the world and was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site last year.
Started walking the 3km from the bus stop to the tube entrance when an American guy and his South Korean girlfriend stopped their car and asked me if a wanted a lift. So of course I jumped in, nice to get a free lift
Manjanggul Lava Tube System 1
. I was travelling light as I left most of my gear in Seoul, but it was steamy hot, so it was cool (literally) to get into a nice air conditioned car.Arrived at the tube entrance, bought a ticket and descended steeply into the abyss. The temperature drops immediately to 10 degrees celsius as you enter, this is such a welcome relief from the sticky conditions at ground level above. Only a 1km stretch of the lava tube is open to the general public, the total length is over 7km and runs from the extinct volcano in the interior to the coast. The tube is a massive twisting chasm with water dripping from cracks in the jet back volcanic rock. The walls of the tunnel display evidence of the ancient lava flows with strange shapes contorted from the solid rock. At the end of the 1km section, there's a large lava tower formed by lava dripping onto the tunnel floor from above, and then quickly solidifying to built a large pillar of rock. There're many other interesting features created by the heat and the forces of the molten lava cutting through the surrounding rock. A really amazing place, never seen anything quite like this before. After a few hours in the tube I returned to the surface and walked to the bus stop where I caught the bus to Seogwipo in the south. It's a scenic two hour ride on the coastal road.
Found a motel in Seogwipo called Chu-pung-nyong near the bus station, so a handy location for a few jaunts I have planned in the coming days.
