Maisan is two rock peaks that look like a horse’s ears standing out of farmland, and the strangest thing about visiting is that you probably will not climb either of them. None of the four courses Jinan County publishes reaches a summit. The path that does is a short separate section, closed for most of the winter, that reopens on a date the county decides each year.
Safety
No reservation system was found for the marked courses. The summit path to Amamaibong is a separate matter: it is closed seasonally and reopens by notice from Jinan County, with no fixed annual date. An admission charge applies in the Tapsa area and has recently been waived for local events, so confirm before you go.
The Amamaibong summit path is closed seasonally for ice risk and reopens by notice from Jinan County. Dates move every year. In the 2021-2022 season the closure ran from 23 November to 31 March and the county cited a penalty of up to 500,000 won under the Natural Parks Act for entering a closed section. Check the county notice before you plan to summit.
Valley Walk: South Car Park to North Car ParkPrimary
Moderate
One way
3.3 km
Time
1 h 30 m
South car park past Geumdangsa, Tapsa and Eunsusa to Cheonwangmun, then down to the north car park in the tourist complex. Jinan County lists it at 3.3 km and 1 hour 30 minutes.
This is the route most visitors walk, and it is the only one of the five official courses that moves at a normal walking pace. Cheonwangmun is the saddle between the two peaks, not a summit — you stand between Amamaibong and Sutmaibong and look up at both.
South Car Park over Biryongdae to the Pagodas
Strenuous
One way
3.5 km
Time
2 h 18 m
South car park to Gogeumdang, over Biryongdae at 527 m and Bongdubong at 540 m, ending at the stone pagoda group: 3.5 km and 2 hours 20 minutes.
Two hundred metres longer than the valley walk and fifty minutes slower, which tells you what the ridge adds. Biryongdae is the viewpoint people climb this for.
Bohungsa Temple over Gwangdaebong
Strenuous
One way
5.4 km
Time
3 h 42 m
From Bohungsa over Gwangdaebong at 609 m, then Gogeumdang, Biryongdae and Bongdubong to the pagodas: 5.4 km and 3 hours 40 minutes.
Gwangdaebong is the high point of this line and the reason to take it. The pace works out slower than the shorter south-car-park route, so do not read the extra distance as the only difference.
Hammi Fortress Full Traverse
Strenuous
One way
8.4 km
Time
4 h 42 m
The longest course Jinan County publishes: Hammi fortress over Gwangdaebong, Gogeumdang, Biryongdae and Bongdubong to the stone pagodas, 8.4 km and 4 hours 40 minutes.
A point-to-point line, so plan how you get back to your start. It covers the whole ridge and still does not put you on either of the two summits.
Getting there
Maisan has two entrances. The south car park in Maryeong-myeon puts you closest to Tapsa and the stone pagodas; the north car park in the Maisan tourist complex is the other end of the same valley walk. Jinan is reached by intercity bus from Jeonju or Daejeon, and local bus timetables are published as download files rather than on the web page.
South Car Park (Maryeong-myeon)
Closest entrance to Tapsa and the stone pagodas. Parking is charged; the only published figure dates from 2020 and has not been reconfirmed.
North Car Park (Maisan tourist complex)
The other end of the valley walk, on the Jinan-eup side.
Valley Walk: South Car Park to North Car ParkPrimary
South Car Park over Biryongdae to the Pagodas
Bohungsa Temple over Gwangdaebong
Hammi Fortress Full Traverse
Course overview · reference only — a schematic of the routes, not an actual navigation route or GPS track.
The marked trails do not go to the top
This is worth understanding before you plan. Jinan County lists courses of 8.4 km, 5.4 km, 3.5 km, 3.1 km and 3.3 km. Every one of them ends at the stone pagoda group or at a car park, by way of Gwangdaebong, Biryongdae or Bongdubong. Not one finishes on Amamaibong or Sutmaibong.
Summit access is a separate 0.6 km section from Cheonwangmun, or 0.9 km from Bongdubong. Short, and steep enough that the county closes it whenever ice is a risk.
So the honest framing is this: Maisan is a valley walk and a ridge walk with two extraordinary rock peaks above you, and a short summit scramble that may or may not be open when you arrive.
The summit season has no fixed dates
Jinan County closes the Amamaibong path over the icing season and reopens it by notice. There is no published annual calendar. In the 2021-2022 season the closure ran from 23 November to 31 March. The path reopened on 15 March in 2024 and on 21 March in 2026.
Those three data points are close enough to suggest a pattern and far enough apart that you should not plan around one. Check the county notice for the current season rather than assuming a mid-March opening.
The closure has teeth. The 2021 notice cited a penalty of up to 500,000 won under the Natural Parks Act for entering a closed section. And even inside the open season the path can be shut again at short notice for heavy rain or fog.
What you actually came to see
Tapsa sits in the valley between the two peaks, and its stone pagodas are the image most people know Maisan by: dozens of towers stacked from unmortared stone, standing in the gap beneath the cliffs. The pagoda group is a designated provincial monument.
The rock faces above are the other reason to come. Maisan is known for tafoni, the honeycomb weathering that pits the conglomerate into hollows, and the mountain became part of a National Geopark in 2019. It was designated a national Scenic Site in 2003 and had been a provincial park since October 1979.
There is also a genuinely odd local phenomenon: in deep winter, water left in bowls at the temple is reported to freeze upward into inverted icicles. Jinan County publishes an explanation of how it forms. No best time or place to see it is published, so treat it as a curiosity rather than an itinerary item.
Getting in, and what it costs
There are two entrances at opposite ends of the same valley. The south car park in Maryeong-myeon is closest to Tapsa. The north car park sits in the Maisan tourist complex on the Jinan-eup side. The 3.3 km valley walk connects them, which makes a one-way walk with two cars or a taxi straightforward.
Jinan is reached by intercity bus from Jeonju or Daejeon. Local bus times from Jinan terminal to the mountain are published by the county as download files rather than on the page itself, so we cannot reproduce a timetable here. Confirm with the county tourism office if you are travelling without a car.
An admission charge applies around Tapsa, but the published amounts disagree and the charge has recently been waived during local events, so take cash and expect the figure to have moved. Parking is charged too; the only published rate dates from 2020.
The cherry blossoms come late
The 2.5 km avenue at Maisan blooms in early to mid April, and Jinan County describes it as among the last cherry blossoms to open in the country. If you missed the bloom in Seoul or Jinhae, this is one of the places still worth the drive.
A note on the height
You will see two sets of figures. Jinan County now publishes 687.4 m for Amamaibong and 681.1 m for Sutmaibong. The older numbers, 686 m and 680 m, are still in wide circulation; national survey work revised them upward by a metre or so, and the county said it would replace signage and online material. We use the current county figures.
Who this mountain is for
Maisan suits someone who wants a short, strange, photogenic walk rather than a summit day. The valley route is 3.3 km at a normal walking pace and delivers the pagodas, the cliffs and the view up at both peaks.
If you want the ridge, the south car park route over Biryongdae is 3.5 km but takes 2 hours 20 minutes, which tells you it is a climb rather than a stroll. The Hammi fortress traverse at 8.4 km is a full day and finishes somewhere other than where it started.
If summiting Amamaibong is the point of the trip, check the county notice before you book anything. It is a short section and it is often shut.
FAQ
Where is Maisan, and how high is it?
Maisan is in Jinan County, Jeonbuk, in inland southwestern Korea. It has two rock peaks: Amamaibong at 687.4 m and Sutmaibong at 681.1 m, the figures Jinan County currently publishes.
Can I climb to the summit?
Only in season. None of the four marked courses reaches either peak. The summit path to Amamaibong is a separate short section that Jinan County closes for ice and reopens by annual notice, with no fixed date. Recorded reopenings include 15 March 2024 and 21 March 2026.
What is the easiest way to see Maisan?
The valley walk from the south car park past Tapsa to the north car park: 3.3 km and about 1 hour 30 minutes. It passes the stone pagodas and reaches Cheonwangmun, the saddle between the two peaks, without climbing either.
What is Tapsa?
A temple in the valley between the two peaks, known for a large group of stacked stone pagodas built without mortar. The pagoda group is a designated Jeonbuk provincial monument and is the reason most people come.
Is there an entrance fee?
There is an admission charge in the Tapsa area. We are not quoting a figure: the published amounts disagree between sources and the charge has been waived during recent local events. Check at the entrance.
When do the cherry blossoms bloom?
Early to mid April. Jinan County describes the 2.5 km avenue at Maisan as among the last cherry blossoms to open in the country, which makes it a late option if you miss the bloom elsewhere.