Description

A monk pours the tea at Donghwasa temple, on the flank of Mount Palgongsan, beneath a stone Buddha several times your height. Lunch follows on site. It is the tenth day, and Korea has already changed face four or five times since Seoul.

The capital opens the tour with four nights. Gyeongbokgung Palace and the changing of the guard at the Gwanghwamun gate, the National Folk Museum, the Jongmyo shrine, Seoul Tower at the top of Namsan Park. Bukchon village lines up hanok, the wooden houses of the Choson aristocracy, along lanes unchanged for six hundred years. At the century-old Gwangjang market, you eat mung bean pancakes standing up. A full day goes north, to the Demilitarized Zone: the Mangbaedan altar for families split by the war, the Freedom Bridge by which prisoners returned in 1953, the third tunnel dug by the North Koreans, and the Dora observatory, which looks out on Panmunjom.

Then the country stretches south. Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon and its 5.7 kilometres of walls, Jeonju and its 800 wooden houses, the bamboo forest at Damyang, the street art of Gwangju and its May 18 square. The green tea hills of Boseong have been worked since 1939 and are tasted on the spot. At Haeinsa temple, in Gayasan National Park, wooden tablets carry Buddhist texts carved in the thirteenth century.

Gyeongju keeps three nights to itself. Capital of the Silla kingdom for nearly a thousand years, it holds the granite Buddha of the Seokguram grotto, the grassy tumuli covering royal tombs, Cheomseongdae, the country's oldest observatory, and the Woljeonggyo bridge, which you see twice, by day and by night. Busan follows, with the stacked pastel houses of Gamcheon, the Jagalchi fish market and Haedong Yonggungsa temple set on its rock, facing the sea. The tour ends on Jeju Island, volcanic and matriarchal, where the haenyeo still dive on a single breath.

Highlights:

-Choson dynasty sites in Seoul
-A tea ceremony at the Buddhist temple of Donghwasa, led by a monk
-Traditional wooden houses (hanok) in Jeonju and Gyeongju
-A green tea tasting at a plantation in Boseong
-The energy of the port city of Busan
-The distinctive culture of Jeju Island

Accommodation categories:

Seoul: Novotel Ambassador Dongdaemun 5* or similar
Jeonju: Best Western Plus 4* or similar
Gwangju: Breev Gwangju by Lotte Hotels 4* or similar
Yeosu: Shilla Stay 4* or similar
Daegu: Suseong Spa Resort 4* or similar
Gyeongju: Lahan Select 4* or similar
Busan: Ramada Encore by Wyndham Haeundae 4* or similar
Jeju: Regent Marine The Blue 4* or similar

The itinerary is subject to change without notice. The final itinerary will be available from your travel advisor!

The displayed rate is for two adults in double occupancy. Other room categories and occupancy types (single, triple or quadruple) may be available. Price available upon request*.

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