Namsan Trail Seoul – An Easy Hike to Namsan Seoul Tower

An easy hike, the Namsan Trail is a wonderful walk and short (but steep) hike from downtown Seoul, which can end (or start) at Namsan Seoul Tower.

Namsan Trail opened in 2015 and consists of almost 8km of walkways, steps and viewpoints in the heart of Seoul. It connects the existing Forest Path and North Ringway trails to Seoul’s south.

If you don’t fancy the Namsan Cable Car or taking a bus, this is the best (and most satisfying way) to reach one of Seoul’s best panoramic views – you can even leave your own love-lock at the top.

From photos to walking tips (and the best route to take), here is our guide to Seoul’s Namsan Trail.

---

You might like – 100+ things to do in Seoul >

---

South Korea checklist

We love using agoda.com, expedia.com and booking.com for researching and booking all our hotels, and Hostelworld for booking hostels.

For booking tours, transfers and SIM cards we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, Trazy or Klook.

For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars. For private drivers and taxis, check out our Transfer guide >

Check out our South Korea travel booking resources >

All set for South Korea? Do one final check with our Seoul first timers guide and our South Korea packing list

Before you start

I did the Namsan Trail in May 2025 starting from Seoul Station (it is also walkable from Myeongdong).

As you’ll discover, there are lots of trails to choose from to get to the top but we highly recommend getting a copy of the official ‘Namsan Trail – Urban Forest Trail’ beforehand from any Seoul Tourist Information office / visitor center.

The Namsan Trail map is easy to follow and gives a great overview of all the various walkways – it also allowed me to see an aerial view of the trails and pick what I thought was the best route in terms of historic sites on the way up, a direct route to the top plus good walkways.

I had good phone reception on the trail but I found the combination of Naver / Google maps plus my paper map made the journey a lot easier – in addition, signposts along the trail are really good too.

Do take soft drinks and water too – there are cafes and convenience stores like Korea 7-Eleven at the base of Namsan Tower but based on the route I took, no vendors or kiosks along the way selling refreshment.

Given how hot Seoul can be in the summer, I’d recommend starting early – I was on the trail by 9am and it wasn’t too busy (there were actually more joggers than walkers).

---

You might like – Our guide to the best Korean apps for transport, translation and more >

---

Join our Facebook South Korea Travel Planning and Tips Group!
Need help with your itinerary or have any South Korea related questions? Head on over to our friendly and active Facebook group with over 110,000 members!
Click here to join our group >

Or if you just want to see more of our South Korea photos, follow our South Korea Facebook page >

Namsan Trails – Various Routes and Distances

The 7.5km Namsan Trail consists of 5 different trails:

• North Ringway – 3,420m
• Forest Path – 910m
• Wildflower Path – 880m
• Nature Ecology Path – 1,650m
• History and Culture Path – 640m

HOWEVER, I wanted the most direct route from Seoul Station to the peak of Namsan Park, to Namsan Seoul Tower. Most of the routes above are quite scenic but not that direct and don’t go to the summit.

I managed to walk from Seoul Station to Namsan Seoul Tower in less than an hour (although boy, was it a sweaty hour towards the end – it gets steep!). So let’s go hiking in Seoul city…

You might like these Seoul neighbourhood guides:
Dongdaemun
Euljiro
Gangnam
Hannam-dong
Hongdae
Ikseon-dong 
Insadong
Itaewon
Myeong-dong
Seongsu-dong
Sindang

Or check out our best neighbourhoods in Seoul Guide >

The best walking route to Namsan Tower / Namsan Park

So I walked through the city from Seoul Station using the Seoullo 7017 walkway (it is Seoul’s ‘highline’ walk above the busy roads) to get me across the city to the Baekbeom Square Entrance.

I chose this route as based on the Namsan Trail map, it is the quickest and most direct route that also partly goes along the famous Seoul City Wall / Hanyangdoseong plus goes past historic sites and monuments

Please remember there are lots of other trails you might want to consider and that is why the tourist information Namsan Trail map is so useful with your planning.

My total walk to the top was less than 2km and took less than an hour once I’d got onto the main trail – this included lots of photography stops.

---

You might like – Things to do in Seoul at night including a Seoul baseball game

---

How to get to Namsan Trail

Given Namsan Park is in downtown Seoul, there are literally hundreds of ways to get there. So you may want to decide which part of the trail you want to do.

The nearest Seoul Metro stations to Namsan Park and their exits are as follows:

• Seoul Station – exit 11
• Hoehyeon Station – exit 4
• Myeongdong Station – exit  4
• Chungmuro Station – exit 4
• Hangangjin Station – exit 1

If you aren’t coming in from Myeongdong, I would recommend walking from either Seoul Station or Hoehyeon Station for the most direct Namsan Park trail to the top.

Remember to buy a T-Money card in Seoul, so you can easily use all forms of public transport.

---

You might like – Our guide to the best day-trips from Seoul >

---

Shortest Namsan Trail Route

Here is the route I took to reach the base of Namsan Tower.

I started at Baekbeom Square Entrance of Namsan Park (map) so that I could also walk along part of the historic Seoul City Wall (Hanyangdoseong), originally built in the in the 1390s (but rebuilt over the years).

For the first stretch, you can walk along Seoul City Wall, with Namsan Tower in front of you and Seoul City unfolding behind you – this is a good start to the walk!

From here, there is a small area of parkland and lawns that is surrounded by historic statues such as the figures of General Kim Yu Sin, Yi Si-yeong and Baekbeom Kim, a former Korean Prime Minister from the 1920s who the park is named after.

There are also several municipal buildings and museums located in this area including Namsan Public Library and the Ahn Junggeun Memorial Museum – if you want to learn more about the Seoul City Wall, there is a Hanyangdoseng historic site museum too.

Part of this area is where the History & Culture Path section of the Namsan Trail intersects – so from here, if you’d rather not hike up the steep paths to Namsan Tower, take the right hand Natural Ecology Path or left on the Northern Ringway.

---

You might like – Things to do in Seoul with kids >

---

Hiking to Namsan Tower

After stopping to admire the statues in and around Baekbeom Square, the walk to the top is simple but steep – follow the signposts to the top. Depending on how fast you walk, this will take between 15 to 30 minutes.

The Namsan Tower hike is on paved paths and wooden walkways with stairs – all are well maintained. I saw lots of elderly local citizens walking these stairs, likely as part of their daily fitness regime.

If you have access to the official Namsan Trail map, you are basically following the Central Stairway to the Palgakjeong Pavilion.

Part of the path towards the top runs in parallel to the Namsan Cable Car so you stop to watch it rise and descend (content in the knowledge you’ve walked to the top for me whilst they’ve paid 13,500 KRW).

There are several stopping points along the way with little benches if you need to take a breather.

One of the best viewpoints along the way is Jamdubong Observatory – on the morning I visited Namsan Park in May 2025, it was a misty morning but the clouds finally cleared at the top.

---

You might like – Our guide to Korean SIM cards and eSIMs >

---

At the top – Namsan Seoul Tower

Congratulations – you’ve reached the top. Go check out the views, grab some snacks or cold drinks.

This is the most popular viewing tower with various attractions, cafes and restaurants at the base (plus a couple at the top of the tower too).

The views of Seoul and the surrounding park are stunning plus there are two levels in the tower to explore, one with a rather nice cafe looking out over Seoul.

Almost 800 metres high, the Namsan Tower is open until 10pm on weekdays and until 11pm on weekends – so you can even enjoy the Seoul sunset or Seoul at night.

Namsan Park is open until 10pm most days so you can even enjoy sunset or night time views. Love locks adorn all the fences too in and around the immediate area – quite the romantic place – although many of the locks are now quite rusty and orange!

The park also hosts a free cultural show most afternoons at 3pm where you can enjoy traditional musicians and martial arts – there is lots of audience participation too!

Book your Namsan Seoul Tower ticket here with Klook >

N Seoul Tower is also one of the included attractions in the Discover Seoul Pass >

---

Getting back to downtown Seoul

Finally, you walk back down, get the Namsan Cable Car one way, or grab a bus back to downtown Seoul, which is what I did.

I ended up getting one of the pink Hechi themed buses, which is the loveable pink mascot of the Seoul tourism.

Above all, this is a nice hike to do if you are staying in downtown Seoul hotels and the reward of amazing views along the way and at the top is well worth it!

---

Found this article useful?

Support us on Ko-fi! >

You can follow South Korea Hallyu on: 
Instagram
Facebook group
Facebook page
TikTok