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Jeju Island: Of mountains and waterfalls

Awe-inspired by the pristine beauty of this island in South Korea, Neha Batra relives her half-a-day experience

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I am not much of a beach person, I love mountains. So when I found out that as part of a press outing, we were going to be taken to Jeju Island (South Korea), I couldn't see how it would be any different than, well, living on an island — Mumbai. I mean, of course it would be, but all I could picture was beaches.

And then I was there, for a little more than half a day, and it just blew me away.

The Jeju Province is one of the nine provinces of South Korea, and the island was created entirely from volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago.
We set out in our bus from the hotel, and the guide rattled off two options for us — Seongsan Ilchulbong or the Cheonjiyeon falls. As we looked at her blankly, trying to register the names she had said, she laughed and elaborated. Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called the Sunrise Peak, is a mountain and Cheonjiyeon falls are, well, waterfalls. 

Everyone in the group wanted to see both places, of course, but time was a luxury; we had to choose one. I thought I would have to convince, or fight with, the rest of the group to pick the mountain, but the Universe seemed to have heard my inner voice and the decision was—Sunrise Peak!  And while I wish we had time to go see the Falls, Ilchulbong turned out to be the perfect pick.
Surrounded by the sea, it's a 180-metre-tall archetypal tuff cone formed 5,000 years ago by volcanic eruptions. It is called Sunrise Peak, we were told, because on every December 31, residents visit it in droves, climb to the top, waiting for the new year's sun. It has become a local tradition to make a wish as soon as the sun rises.

When I told our guide and her team on reaching there that I wanted to go all the way to the top, they looked at me incredulously, possibly sizing me up, and asked, "Are you feeling particularly strong today?" I guess I will never be able to explain my love for mountains to anyone. It doesn't matter to me that you need to be a regular climber, that you need to do it in a certain way possibly so as not to burn out, and that it's not advisable to do it if you rarely ever do it. The mountain was in front of me and it wasn't Everest, or even Kilimanjaro. I had to go to the top.

We were given a time that we had to be back by so as not to upset the schedule. So I set my own time by when I should be at the top to allow myself time to descend and be back with the group as per schedule. Of course, none of it went as per my plan. I came down only after getting my photos clicked at the top, for proof, and after clicking pictures of the breathtaking views.
At the top, you will find yourself in its bowl-like crater, with lush green vegetation, the sea and the small city of Jeju-made miniature laid out before you. It was a moment when time stood still. 

From Seongsan Ilchulbong we went to the Jungmun Lava Columns —hexagonal lava columns which look as if they are melting into the sea. 
For a city as popular as Jeju among the locals as well as foreigners, something made evident by the number of people everywhere, I loved how spic and span, pristine and beautiful every place was.
Even as I write this, I am planning another trip to the small island.

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