Sokcho

Sokcho is the practical base for Seoraksan, the granite range that produces most of the country's autumn photographs. The park entrance is about twenty minutes from town by local bus. From there the easy version is the cable car to Gwongeumseong and the walk to Sinheungsa temple with its large seated Buddha; the serious version is Ulsanbawi, a steep six-hour return over stairs bolted to the rock, which is the walk worth planning a day around.

The town itself earns its second night. Sokcho has a real fishing harbour, a covered market known for stuffed squid and fried chicken, and Abai village across the inlet, reached by a hand-pulled barge that passengers help haul across. The beach is broad, cold and mostly empty outside July and August.

There is no railway here. Sokcho is reached by express bus from Seoul in roughly two and a half hours, and the buses are comfortable, frequent and cheap. That is the reason it fits a longer route rather than a short one: the north-east is a bus detour off the rail spine, and you rejoin the KTX network by returning towards Seoul or by crossing to Andong and the interior.

Weather matters more here than almost anywhere else in the country. The ridges hold snow into spring, the foliage window shifts by a week or two each year, and the park closes sections after heavy rain, so check conditions the evening before rather than committing to a route from home.