Best Nature Spots in Jeju-do

A three-peaked oreum east of Cheonjeyeon Valley in Jungmun, with dense forest harboring rare plants such as whisk ferns and Elaeocarpus, designated Natural Monument No. 182-7, along Olle Route 8.

A parasitic volcano on Biyangdo island off Hallim, the youngest of Jeju's volcanic bodies, with large and small craters and coastal features such as the chimney-shaped 'baby-carrying rock' and pillow lava, plus a summit observatory and lighthouse sunsets.

A small island off Hallim, the youngest of Jeju's volcanic bodies, circled in two to three hours and known for giant volcanic bombs, the 'baby-carrying rock,' and a saltwater marsh, reached by a 15-minute ferry from Hallim port.

A harbour famed for jarimulhoe, a seasonal Jeju dish, hosting a damselfish festival each May, backed by Hallasan with Munseom and Seopseom offshore for sunset views, and known for a stairway photo spot beside the local haenyeo house that has gained social-media fame.

A memorial trail in the coastal village of Bukchon-ri, one of the hardest-hit communities of the Jeju 4.3 incident, where a 1949 massacre took some 300 lives; free guided walks start at the Neobeunseungi 4.3 Memorial Hall.

A largely untouched recreation forest off the Namjoro road, mostly gentle flat terrain with cedar, black pine, and natural woodland for forest bathing, and trails including a barrier-free 'sharing' path for all ages.

A parasitic volcano of volcanic clastics and lava on the eastern coast of Hwabuk, overlooking Jeju Port and the open sea, with a seaward cliff below the summit holding the Whale Cave and a child-carrying rock, and a cliffside Jangsu walking path near the island's museums.

A privately owned oreum west of Eoseungsaeng with a small horseshoe crater opening northwest, named after its old map label of oak peak, forested mainly with black pine, marking the Jeju City and Aewol boundary and best explored only as far as Cheona valley due to unkept trails.

A gotjawal primeval forest grown over volcanic lava where tropical and temperate plants coexist, Jeju's largest habitat of the Unmunsan firefly, with well-kept trails enjoyed by day and fireflies lighting the woods at dusk in clear weather.

A three-tier waterfall formed by the Jungmuncheon within the Jungmun Resort, where the first 22-metre tier falls from columnar-joint cliffs into a deep emerald pool that runs dry in the dry season but stays scenic, with swimming now prohibited.

A Seogwipo waterfall set among trachyandesite cliffs, where erosion of the underlying Seogwipo Formation carved a 20m-deep pool, with a valley protected as a Natural Monument for its rare subtropical plants and the giant mottled eel.

An inhabited island midway between Jeju and the mainland, made up of Upper and Lower Chuja with nearby islets, long famous for anchovy fishing and now drawing Olle walkers and anglers, about ninety minutes by ferry from Jeju City.