 Some of the "12,000 pinnacles" tower over the Manmulsang track, in the Kumgang Mountains |
Poets, artists and mystics have long celebrated Kumgangsan as a place of miraculous happenings. The Buddhist scripture the Avatamska Sutra records that "12,000 miracles" are created by the 12,000 peaks of this spectacular range, which is also said to be the home of the Buddha. Rugged stone sentinels, so jagged that they could have been cut out with a fretsaw, tower over the raging waterfalls and ever-changing flora of the valleys making up the 2,400 square kilometre National Park.
But while a visit to Kumgangsan is certainly a "peak" experience, getting there is not so easy, as the range lies wholly within North Korea.
Sadly, the Inner Diamond Mountains are nowadays off-limits to visitors. But the hiking trails of the Outer Diamond Mountains are ample consolation. The ascent of the Manmulsang peaks is a challenging climb along a track so steep that in places, staircases are needed. In other places, high stone steps mark out the path. All around, the pinnacles soar like stone needles from the valley floor - this would most definitely not be the best parachuting zone on earth.
If the Diamond Mountains are "the land of 12,000 miracles", could the eventual reunification of Korea be miracle number 12,001? . .
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