A Trip to Pocheon Art Valley

Think of a mining quarry and you conjure up some exploited site, barren and ravaged; however, Pocheon Art Valley is different. This abandoned granite mining quarry of yore is converted into a beautiful sculptural art space that we see today. Add to it the beauty of a naturally formed lake, cascading small waterfalls around it; and the place is transformed into a beautiful tourist spot where Seoul-ites can spend a few hours relaxing around it. So what are you waiting for? Plan a quick trip to Pocheon art valley and enjoy!

Reaching Pocheon Art Valley from Seoul

Address: 234 Art valley-ro, Sinbuk-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do

Pochoen art valley is not easily accessible by public transport. One has to change buses and then take either walk or take a cab to the place. Anyways, we drove from Seoul to Pocheon Art Valley in an hour from our house. It is roughly 60 kms from Seoul.

Click here to reach its website for information on timings, map, etc.

Admission fees:

KRW 5000 per adult and KRW 1500 per child

Monorail ticket: KRW 4500 per adult for round trip and KRW 3500 for on-way trip. It is recommended to buy the one-way monorail trip ticket to go to the top and then walk back down via the forest trail enjoying the beautiful sceneries around you.

Recommended duration

Anywhere upto 2 -3 hours.

Exploring Pocheon Art Valley:

Once you reach the art valley, there is a monorail to take you upto the topmost point of the garden near the Astronomical Science Museum (2nd monorail stop). One can start exploring the art valley from there. The museum has free entry for all and is in Korean. It is mostly for kids. So, if you cannot understand much there, just skip it and start walking towards the lake below. Admire the sculptures and the garden on your way to the lake below.

Cheonjoho Lake

This is the most sought after location in the art valley. The emerald lake makes for a beautiful photo op against the granite walls. Luckily, the place was not crowded when we reached there in the afternoon and we could admire its beauty and click endless pictures at our own pace. 🙂

Just above the lake, there was a flight of stairs near a stone entrance which was closed. May be for renovation? I later realized that these steps lead to an observatory at the top from where one can get sweeping views of the valley. There is supposedly a cafe at the top too. Unfortunately, we missed it!

The Sculpture Park

Walk further below from the lake to reach the park full of sculptures. As we strolled down to the garden, there was a treat waiting for our eyes. The garden was green and expansive with cliffs on one side and valleys on the other. It was fun to walk through the rose garden looking at various sculptures. The lights tunnel on the other end of the park was beautiful too. No wonder, that this location is popular in K-dramas.

As you continue further up the garden, you again reach the Cheonjoho lake from the other side, next to the amphitheatre. It was a good couple of hours spent in the park for us.

We took the monorail again to go back to the parking lot as our parents were with us. Even otherwise, the path to the observatory and cafe at the top was closed. We had no choice. However, taking the forest trail (from next to the cafe) to walk down to the parking lot is definitely a great idea of exploring the place.

Hope you enjoy this write up and find it useful. If you want to read more of my escapades from Seoul, then click here to read more of my blogs.