Jeju Olle: Gapado Island

Jeju Olle is a series of trails that goes around Jeju Island plus trails around some surrounding islands—a total of 26 trails. If you hiked all 26 trails, then you would have traveled on foot 425 kilometers! Since I did not have the time (and, surely, not the energy) to do all 26 trails, I just picked two. And these two are trails that are not on Jeju Island but trails that go around two of its nearby islands: Udo Island and Gapado Island.

I picked Gapado Island (Jeju Olle Route 10-1) for two reasons. One, it's a short and very easy hike. The total distance of the trail is just 4.2 kilometers and can be done in an hour or two. Two, because it was the perfect time (April) to see the island's beautiful barley fields.

Getting to Gapado Island. From Jeju City, we took Bus 255 to Moseulpo Harbor (1.5 hours, 1150 krw). Moseulpo Harbor is the stop for Unjinhang Port where we will be taking a ferry to Gapado Island. At the port, we filled out a passenger report form, presented the form and our passports at the ticket counter and bought roundtrip tickets for Gapado Island (13100 krw, roundtrip). The ferry to Gapado Island runs every hour from 9am to 12 noon, then resumes at 2pm, 3pm, and 350pm (last trip). The return tip to Moseulpo Harbor is every hour from 920am to 1220pm, then 220pm, 320pm, and 410pm (last trip). The journey takes just 10 minutes. Heads up! There are two destinations: Gapado and Marado. Make sure you buy a ticket for Gapado.

Bus 255 schedule

Ferry to Gapado Island

Inside the ferry. Unlike the ferry to Udo Island, this one has seats.

Hiking around Gapado Island. There are bikes for rent (5000 krw) when you arrive at the port in Gapado. But it's such a small island that, in my opinion, walking would be the best choice. At the port, there were cafes, restaurants, and a few houses. We walked west following the coastal road as suggested by the trail map on the Jeju Olle website.

The trail is marked by blue and red ribbons, or blue and orange arrows (follow the orange arrows if you are following the trail in the reverse direction), or Ganse, which are horse-shaped trail markers (the head points in the direction of the route).

Trail markers

This Ganse informs the visitor that from this point one can see Marado Island

Marado Island in the distance

It was a sunny spring day with a light sea breeze blowing in, which made the coastal walk a very pleasant one. We saw some people sitting on the rocks by the sea and just enjoying their coffee and each other's company. The houses, I noticed, were small, one-storey buildings...most of them painted in the same color. Low walls made of stones separated the houses.

Hmmm...a slide at the port in Gapado?

Enjoying their coffee by the sea

The dwellings were small one-storey buildings mostly of the same color scheme

After a few minutes of walking along the coast, we could see a windmill and then the turnoff for the trail going inland.

The turnoff led to a vista of beautiful barley fields with the tall windmills (there were two) and blue sky creating a lovely backdrop. Not only that, it was a stunning walk through fields of barley and fields of canola flowers.

Fields of barley

Midway along the trail, we found stone statues and a yurt. I wondered what a yurt was doing in the middle of Gapado Island. It was actually not a dwelling place, for inside was nothing but ribbons with messages written on them by visitors. 

A yurt in Gapado?

So many ribbons with handwritten messages

I had to leave my mark, too.

Canola fields

We took our time walking this section of the trail, breathing in the fresh air and taking in 360 degrees of awesome nature. It was such a beautiful sight! But soon we had walked two-thirds of the trail and reached the east side of the island. The last third of the trail was to follow a concrete a road due south along the rocky coastline.

The trail ended at another port on the south of the island. Jeju Olle 10-1? check!

The port on the south of the island marks the end of Jeju Olle 10-1

But our hike did not end where the hiking trail ended. Of course, we had to go back to our starting point since we had to catch the ferry back to Jeju Island!

Jeju and Busan, April 2019
Jeju Accommodation: Jeju R Hotel & Guesthouse
Traveling Around Jeju by Bus Plus KakaoMap (2019)
Eats from Jeju City Restaurants I Can't Read the Names Of
Jeju City Lights: Iho Tewoo Beach and Jeju Light Art Festa
Geomun Oreum and Manjanggul Lava Tube
Art and Nature in Seogwipo City
Jeju Olle: Udo Island
Jeju Olle: Gapado Island (you're here!)
Busan Accommodation: One Way Guesthouse
Where and What We Ate in Busan