Day Trip To Danyang, Korea: A Complete Escape From The City To A Nature Oasis
Join us on a jam packed day filled with beautiful nature, yummy foods, and extreme sports!
Today we will introduce a place full of natural beauty.
Danyang is a small city in the northern Chungcheong province and is a popular destination for people of all ages.
We wanted to share our adventures in this beautiful city with you all.😁
Danyang Station
단양역
We began our journey at Cheongnyangni Station in Seoul (청량리역) to board a KTX train to Danyang Station (단양역)!
The train ride only took one hour and 18 minutes, fast huh?
Danyang is accessible by express or intercity buses, but these buses tend to run less frequently and take much longer than KTX.
So if you want to make the most of your time with a day trip, we recommend taking the KTX train.
When you arrive at Danyang Station, there is an old abandoned train track on the left.
The view is amazing with the Namhan River in the background!
With the colorful trains and blue skies, we just had to start the day by taking photos at this spot.
To get to our first destination, we caught a bus from Danyang Station to get to the main city, Danyang-eup.
Most of the buses that stop near the entrance of Danyang Station pass through the city so you can take the one that comes first!
We got off at Dojeon 2-ri(Gugyeong Traditional Market) (도전 2리(구경시장 입구)) and waited for another bus.
Bus intervals in Danyang are long, but luckily we had a lot of options (106, 204, 802, 803, 804, 806, 807, 811, 812, 813, 814, 815, or 816)!
We were not worried about getting to the next location, Dodamsambong Peaks.
Dodamsambong Peaks & Seongmun
도담삼봉 + 석문
Address: 충청북도 단양군 매포읍 삼봉로 644-33
644-33 Sambong-ro, Maepo-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do
Admission: Free
Dodamsambong Peaks and Seongmun are extremely well-known as the most beautiful and natural places in Danyang!
We chose our first spot because we felt it would be an energizing way to kick off a bright morning.
Dodamsambong Peaks are a series of three rock formations protruding out of clear blue water.
The combination of the rocks and colorful flowers makes for a peaceful and refreshing view!
If you hike a bit up a trail beside the Namhan River, you will reach Seongmun (stone gate), a nature-made bridge.
You can see the reflection of the sky on the river through the stone gate!
We felt like we were in a fairytale.
After spending some time at Dodamsambong Peaks and Seongmun, we wrapped up by sailing on a Hwangpo Dotbae (황포돛배).
You can further appreciate the beauty of this location from a wooden boat!😊
After spending the morning exploring, we were eager to head to our next location for lunch.
We took a taxi towards Gugyeong Market (구경시장), it was about 6,000 won.
There was probably a bus we could take, but the wait was too long and we were short on time.😣
Learn more about Dodamsambong Peaks and Seongmun
Chungcheongdo Sundae
충청도 순대
Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 도전리 614
614, Dojeon-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do
Hours: 9:00-21:00
After a healing time with nature, we headed to a restaurant near the entrance of Gugyeong Market.
Chungcheongdo Sundae was highly praised on an episode of Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King (백종원의 3대 천왕).
Garlic Sundae Giblets Hotpot (M)
23,000 won
Ta-da! This is the meal that Baek Jong-won recommended on the show.
Since Danyang is famous for garlic, the sundae here is also stuffed with garlic.
They even add garlic to the hotpot which makes it delicious and gives it the name garlic sundae giblets hotpot!
With tender sundae, chewy giblets (gopchang), and spicy broth, we were happy with this satisfying meal!
Learn more about Chungcheongdo Sundae
Gugyeong Traditional Market
구경시장
Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 도전리
Dojeon-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do
Hours: 08:00-20:00
The highlight of the Danyang food experience is Gugyeong Traditional Market!
This market is located in the middle of the city and is known for delicious food and a clean atmosphere.
Both locals and tourists visit this market.
There were so many delicious-looking foods we wanted to try but settled on the following three.
Black garlic bread (찰보리 흑마늘빵), black garlic scorched rice sweet & sour chicken (흑마늘 누룽지 닭강정), and Aronia macaron ice cream (아로니아 마카롱 아이스크림).
To be honest, we were pretty full from the garlic sundae hotpot, but we could not resist trying more food.😋😋
We may or may not have regretted that decision later when it became hard to move...🤣
Because our next destination was at the top of a mountain to go paragliding, we had no choice but to take a taxi.
From Gugyeong Market to Cafe SANN, it was 15,000 won.
So if you also plan on paragliding, we recommend you budget 15,000 won for cab fare.
Learn more about Gugyeong Traditional Market
Danyang Paragliding
단양 패러글라이딩
We went paragliding with Para 1st, also known as Pareoilbeonji (패러 일번지) in Korean.
Address: 충북 단양군 가곡면 사평리 246-30
246-30, Sapyeong-ri, Gagok-myeon, Danyang-gun, Chungbuk
Hours: 8:00-19:00
Tel: 043-422-8190
(We highly recommend calling in advance!)
Paragliding is a huge reason why Koreans come to Danyang.
In fact, actor Park Bo-gum came to Danyang to paraglide as part of a Korean entertainment show 2 Days & 1 Night (1박 2일 ).
Since the weather was so nice the day we visited Danyang, we also gave it a try!
It was absolutely exhilarating to float over the beautiful landscape of Danyang.
We could not get over the beauty of the river and lush trees covering the mountains!
No need to be too scared, the experts help you fly safely.
You can tell by our smiling faces in the photo below that we had a great time.
After paragliding, you even get a chance for some pretty bomb photo ops!
Learn more about paragliding in Danyang
Cafe SANN
카페 산
Address: 충청북도 단양군 가곡면 사평리 246-33
196-86, Dusan-gil, Gagok-myeon, Danyang-gun, Chungbuk
Hours:
Weekdays: 9:30-19:30
Weekends & Public Holidays: 8:30-9:30
Last Order: 19:00
Cafe SANN is another popular destination in Danyang.
It is right next to where we went paragliding so we had to stop by.
Here you can enjoy tasty drinks and desserts while watching paragliders with a majestic backdrop of mountains and blue skies.
If you all do decide to try paragliding, we recommend you all come here to rest up and enjoy the view.
Getting back down the mountain was super easy.
We went back to the paragliding company we went with and there was a free shuttle service that took us to our next location!
Rose Tunnel
장미 터널
Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 도전리
Dojeon-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungbuk
Source: Danyang-gun (단양군)
This is Danyang's most famous riverside promenade.
If you go in early June, you can walk along the river and enjoy fully bloomed roses!
Unfortunately, when we went in early May, the roses were not in bloom yet.😥
But, even without blooming roses, we still had a lovely time!
There weren't many people here so we had a nice walk and really took in all the sights.
We recommend coming here for a late afternoon stroll.
Also, just past the rose tunnel, was a field of canola flowers.
If you are in Danyang during the spring, we recommend coming here to admire these beautiful yellow flowers.
After paragliding and our late-afternoon stroll, we got hungry again.
So we headed to dinner, and the best part was that it was close enough to walk to!
Dawon
다원
Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 상진리 1018-1
172 Sambong-ro, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungbuk
Hours:
Mon-Sat: 11:30-21:00
Sun: 11:00-20:00
Break Time: 15:30-17:30
This famous restaurant is located right next to Rose Tunnel.
Here you can try their delicious garlic tteok-galbi (마늘 떡갈비) with a fabulous river view. Isn't it lovely?
Garlic Tteok-galbi (마늘 떡갈비) + Cold Noodles (냉면) Set
20,000 won/ person
(mandatory minimum of 2 orders)
In Korea, it is common to have cold noodles (naengmyeon) with meat!
The combination of hot and juicy meat, with cold refreshing noodles, is delicious.
Although the meal was on the pricy side, we thought it was worth it.
We decided to wrap up our Danyang adventure with some Korean rice wine, makgeolli.👏
We caught the 19:46 KTX train back to Cheongnyangni Station and arrive at 21:00.
In total, we spent about 160,000 won per person on this trip.
We were so grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime experience!