I think having withdrawal symptoms from walking is an actual thing. I’ve been “suffering” from it for the past several days. After spending almost two weeks in Japan walking, hiking and pounding the pavement, I kinda miss it. Or, more to the point, my body misses it. JUST AS I MISSED UPDATING ON THIS BLOG. But I’m back, and I’m going to talk about that day I went in Danyang in the North Chungcheong province of South Korea. Let me first take you to Gosu Cave.
The main reason Danyang was included in our South Korea itinerary was paragliding. Yep. I was adamant that I try paragliding this time. It wasn’t until that morning, while we were on that 2-hour bus ride from Seoul to Danyang that I realized we can actually squeeze in sightseeing other places after we were done paragliding.
(And in case you’re wondering, the paragliding post will be coming a bit later.)
Gosu Cave – Overview
Gosu Cave, or “Kosu” as the locals would say, is a huge limestone cave that is so famous in the country, it was designated by the government as Natural Monument No. 256. It is one of the many famous natural caves in Korea, and because of its “mystery and beauty”, it is also touted often as an “underground palace”.
According to early records, this cave is said to have served as a home to prehistoric people in the area. It got its name from the fact that the area used to be filled with fields of tall reeds or grasses. Yes, “gosu” in Korean means “field of tall reeds”.
The cave has a total length of 5.4 kilometers. However, only 1.7 kilometers is open to the public so that’s the farthest distance visitors to the cave can go. The cave also has a depth of a little more than 4,200 feet or 1,300 meters. From the flights of metal steps that we had to ascend and descend, I kinda got the feeling that we were going up or down very much.
Off to Gosu~!
After we got our spirits settled from that exhilarating paragliding ride, Danyang Paragliding’s shuttle drove us down from the mountain and dropped us off at the entrance leading up to Gosu Cave.
We walked up a narrow road lined by shops selling practically everything, until we arrived at this large brown building. On the far right is the stairs leading up to the actual cave. But that’s not how you enter, at least, not directly.
So you purchase an admission ticket, which is KRW 4000 per person (adult). That’s roughly PHP 190.00 or USD 3.50. You get a ticket, and a pair of customized Gosu Cave gloves.
And then you enter through the glass doors beside the ticket building, NOT directly up the stone stairs.
We were wondering why we had to enter the building instead of just leading us straight up to the cave. It appears that we’d be passing through two floors of the GosuSeum, which is a sort of a digital and interactive museum.
Oh, and those gloves that we were given? I did wonder if we’d have to do some crawling or clinging to rocks. I actually brought my pair home with me to the Philippines and, to this day, they are tucked safely away in a drawer.
The GosuSeum has installations – mostly digital – that discussed about caves and what you can find in them, even addressing the temperature and all that scientific side of it. You can easily spend hours reading everything, flipping on the switches to watch the interactive displays become more “informative”…
I just thought that I’d probably know more about caves if we had a place like this in school when I was still a student. 🙂
After making the rounds of the two floors, you’d be led off to a door where you’d spot the stone steps that I mentioned earlier, but then you’d start the climb halfway up. But wait, there are 3-D(ish) paintings on the floor and wall, so you can take photos there first.
Like we did. XDDD
When we got there, there wasn’t really much of a crowd. This was a Friday morning, so I presume most tourists come on a weekend.
There were a handful other visitors, though, and some of them are families, presumably from other parts of the country. The two of us were the only non-Korean speakers there.
You gotta note too that it was a bit hot when we were there, as it was summer in Korea (although none of the heat wave that hit the country this year).
It was, indeed, hot, but the moment we were standing at the entrance inside Gosu Cave, we felt a chilly draft coming from within. They weren’t kidding when they said it’s going to be quite cool inside.
It is said that the temperature inside Gosu Cave is maintained at 15 degrees Celsius or 59 degrees Fahrenheit whole year round, regardless if it’s summer or winter. So I presume that, during winter, it’d actually be warmer to go in? Interesting.
Remember when we went to Manjanggul Cave? (Read about it in this post.) There were iron railings and lighting fixtures, and even some areas had steel platforms for people to walk on, so they won’t have to slip-slide their way over the rocks.
It’s the same “format” here. There are steel/metal platforms installed for human traffic, and there are iron railings to hold on to and keep your balance. I actually think this is smart, because it means there’d be less “contact” with the rocks. You see, I remember how frequently we’d be instructed (this was in caves back home) not to touch the walls of the caves so as not to damage them. But of course, that is moot when you slip and have to keep your balance, and you can’t avoid leaning on the walls or even brushing against them.
And at certain points as you are walking, you’d see signs pointing the direction you’d go (but there is only one direction, really) and the remaining distance until you get to the end of the cave.
Compared to Manjanggul Lava Tube, Gosu Cave was narrower, so the stairs also got narrow in many parts, barely able to fit one person. And there was enough lighting, but they are still mostly dim, so if you have poor eyesight, you might have to be extra careful with each step you take. Your eyes do get accustomed to the dark a few minutes in, though.
Rock formations are eeeeverywhere. Stalactites and stalagmites abound, and you can also hear the sound of water trickling and flowing, so you know that there are underground bodies of water beneath your feet, under those steel walkways.
I’m actually glad there weren’t a lot of people then, because it allowed us to stop for a while, look at the rock formations on the walls and ceiling, and make our imagination work. Well, at some points other visitors caught up to us, but it was no problem to justm move slightly to the side and let them pass.
There were areas that were meant for taking photos, but I remember that they cautioned us against flash photography. I can understand that, too, because imagine a flash going off in all that darkness and dim light. Ouch on the eyes.
Some of the stairs can get crazy, though. You just feel yourself going down and down… and then down even more…. and then you get to the bottom, and look up, and WHOA DUDE THAT WAS HIGH.
At least I felt that a couple of times. From what I’ve read, the height of these vertical walkways can reach up to 50 meters.
Props to them for taking all precautions, though. This particular flight of winding steps had full-length rails to keep anyone from falling over to their deaths. XDDD
It was only 15 degrees, but the air was damp, so that amplified the chill a bit. The gloves did help in keeping our hands and fingers reasonably warm especially when we had to hold on to the iron railings.
It’s a twisty, turny journey through the caverns of Gosu Cave, and you actually lose track of time. Come to think of it, I always feel that way when I go inside caves. I go in, and then I come out, only to realize I’ve spent hours there when it felt like I was inside for mere minutes.
We went in at 10:45 AM, then came out at 11:20. It felt quick, but we actually spent almost half an hour inside. Now I imagine it taking hours if there’s considerable foot traffic. I’m glad that was not the case.
Once again, this visit to one of South Korea’s most treasured caves is an eye-opener at how they preserve their natural treasures but still make sure that the public can enjoy it. Gosu Cave may not give the kind of adventure that hardcore spelunkers and cave explorers would want, but it was nonetheless a very good and memorable experience.
When we were inside Gosu Cave, we were closely following a family of four: the dad, the mom, and their little girl and a toddler. And the kids were clearly having the time of their lives in the dark, clinging to their daddy and mommy, if their giggles and shrieks are anything to go by.
For me, that was a rare sight: to see a child having fun inside a cavern (a real one) instead of getting terrified. It’s like they were at an amusement park, and this was like one, in some ways.
Slowly we made our way back down to the main road, and passed by the shops selling food and souvenir items. But these one caught our eye.
Even today, I think this is my best purchase from this trip in Korea. (OK, I had hauls of skin care products in Myeongdong, but they don’t count because they are necessities.)
I am referring to these acupuncture slippers. XDDD
I have heard of them before, even saw some people on television wearing them. But then I saw Jin of BTS wearing it at the airport… and even lured Jungkook into wearing one half of the pair with him. Apparently, it’s good for your feet and general circulation.
So I bought a pair.
And I love wearing them for several minutes each evening. As I’ve said earlier, they are by far my best purchase during this trip.
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