In the mountains above Bulguk-sa is this famous Unesco World Cultural Heritage–listed grotto. It can be a magical place, especially when rain and mists cloak the mountaintops. Chipmunks dance in the thick woods leading up to the rotunda, where sits an image of the Sakyamuni Buddha surrounded by more than three dozen guardians and lesser deities. His position gazing over the East Sea (visible in clear weather) has long made him regarded as a protector of his country.
Seokguram was quite a feat of engineering when it was constructed in the mid-8th century. Huge blocks of granite were quarried far to the north at a time when the only access to the Seokguram site (740m above sea level) was a narrow mountain path.
Bus 12 runs hourly between the car parks for Bulguk-sa and Seokguram (₩1500, 20 minutes). From the Seokguram car park, it is a 400m walk along a shaded gravel track and up the stairs to the grotto. Alternatively, there is a hiking trail between the Seokguram ticket office and Bulguk-sa (about 3.2km).
