The stone stairways
The Blue and White Cloud bridges.
Basile Morin — CC BY-SA 4.0 · lumoplank — CC0 · A10ml — CC0 · Leonard J. DeFrancisci — CC BY-SA 3.0
Gyeongju's best-known landmark, a Buddhist temple complex on the slope of Mount Tohamsan, counted among the masterpieces of architecture from the golden age of the Silla kingdom. Records mention a small temple here in the sixth century; the present complex was built in the eighth. Its wooden halls burned in the war of 1592 and were rebuilt in stages, the last in the 1970s. It has been on UNESCO's World Heritage list since 1995. What survives from Silla times is the stone, and it is the finest thing here. You climb to the main court by two double stone stairways called the Blue Cloud and White Cloud bridges, set on a base of precisely laid blocks. In the court stand two eighth-century stone pagodas facing each other: Dabotap, elaborate with its steps and pillars, and Seokgatap, plain and austere. Both are National Treasures. In 1966 a scroll printed from woodblocks in the eighth century was found inside Seokgatap; it is among the oldest known printed texts in the world. Entry has been free since May 2023. It is a place of worship, so keep quiet and do not take photographs inside the halls. The best time is early morning, and in autumn, when the maples around the walls turn colour.
The Blue and White Cloud bridges.
Ornate eighth-century stone.
Austere, where the scroll was found.
On the slope of Tohamsan, about 16 km south-east of central Gyeongju
Yes, the admission fee was abolished on 4 May 2023. Only the car park charges.
By local bus from the bus terminal or the train station in about 30 to 40 minutes, or by taxi in about 20 minutes.