MAISAN PROVINCIAL PARK

By Jacquie Lambert

After 2 months settling into our new Korean life we did our first road trip. On the advice of Lonely Planet guide we headed 2 hrs northwest to the town of Jinan and the tiny Maisan

Provincial Park recommended in the guide. There are a couple of good hotels close to the

park in the small town. You can contact me for more information on staying in the area if

you want.

The park itself has two main attractions. One is its twin peaks called the Horse Ear Peaks for obvious reasons. One is male named Sutmaibong and the other female named An-maibong, the only ‘couple peaks’ in the world and our hotel room had a lovely view of them. The other attraction is the Tapsa Temple, an unusual Buddhist Temple. Over 30 years from 1885, a

single monk built over 100 stone pagodas there, some over 10 meters high without cement and of which 80 or so are still standing. The temple is jammed into one end of a stone canyon at the foot of the Horse Ears peaks and is quite spectacular. There is also a temple above the Tapsa Temple in a

meadow nearly between the Horse Ears themselves that has lovely summer flowers allaround it. There are many other walks in the area. We saw no other foreigners while we were there and no English was spoken though the pamphlet had some translations for us.  It was never a problem and the coffee from the cart was great as were the BBQ ribs.

It is a 1 to 1 ½ hr walk up and then between the ears over the scalp and down the other side.

There are car parks on the north and south side and you can walk one way to the opposite car park and catch a bus back. On the north side, the first part has a lot of steps but once. through the ears the other side is a gentle sloping path and an easy walk. You can park in the south car park if you want to avoid the steps and walk up the easier pathway to the temples and then back down the way you came. There is a reservoir lake you walk past with

fun swan boats to hire, a camping ground on the south side and the lower south path is lined with some good street style outdoor eating establishments, coffee carts, craft sellers etc and there are lots of toilets. The hole path is lined with cherry blossom trees so in spring the

walk up/down the south side would be magical. We thought the area was beautiful and well
worth a visit.