Baengnyongdonggul Cave

Baengnyongdonggul Cave is a limestone cave opening onto a cliff at the foot of Baegunsan, right above the Donggang River in Mitan-myeon, Pyeongchang. Unlike show caves with lighting and staircases, this is an exploration cave: you put on a caving suit and helmet and go in with a guide. Only 20 people enter per tour, so you need to book ahead.

The cave that escaped the Donggang Dam

The size and interior of the cave only became known in 1976, when a small hole that had blocked a passage halfway in was opened up. The name combines "Baek" from Baegunsan, the mountain that holds the cave, and "Ryong" from Jeong Mu-ryong, who was involved in its discovery. It was designated a Natural Monument in 1979. In the late 1990s it nearly disappeared under the reservoir of the planned Donggang Dam, but the dam was cancelled. The cave opened to the public in July 2010. About 785 m of it was opened as Korea's first educational exploration cave, where small groups go in with a guide and learn as they explore. It is now one of the highlights of the Gangwon Paleozoic National Geopark.

Inside the cave

The entrance sits about 15 m above the river, at 235 m above sea level. The cave is around 1,875 m long, with one horizontal main passage running east–west and three side branches; tours only use section A. Inside it stays at about 11°C all year, with humidity close to 100%. The rock around it is Ordovician limestone and dolomite laid down in the Paleozoic era, and you can see its banded layers in the cave walls.

• Formations: stalactites and stalagmites, columns, flowstone, curtains, cave coral, cave shields, cave flowers and helictites. The hat-shaped and fried-egg-shaped stalagmites are forms you rarely see elsewhere.
• Cave life: 56 species live here, including spiders, beetles, bats, shrimp and millipedes. Move your light slowly and you will start spotting them in the cracks.
• Human traces: remains of an ondol floor, a fireplace and a chimney near the entrance show that people once lived in the cave.

How a tour works

At the office you show ID and buy your ticket, then change into a caving suit and collect your gear before setting off with the guide. Each tour takes 20 people, with 12 departures a day. There are no built stairs and railings as in show caves, which is why age limits apply. Changing rooms and showers are available afterwards. Departures start at 09:00 and run roughly every 30 minutes, with a lunch break from 11:30 to 12:30. With a daily limit of 240 visitors, weekends and school holidays sell out early. Groups of 20 or more must book together.

Tripto tips

• Booking: online through Pyeongchang County's cave website (pc.go.kr/cave). Arrive with ID at least 20 minutes before departure; latecomers are not waited for and not refunded.
• Hours: departures 09:00–15:00 from 11 February to 10 November and 09:00–14:00 from 11 November to 10 February. Closed on Mondays.
• Prices (individual): adults KRW 18,000; children, youths and soldiers KRW 14,000. Pyeongchang residents get a discount with ID.
• Age limits: as this is an exploration cave, children aged 6 and under and visitors 65 and over may be turned away at the guide's discretion.
• What to bring: comfortable clothes to wear under the suit, a change of clothes and a towel. The cave is remote, so a car or taxi is the practical way to get there; the car park has 37 spaces for cars. In summer you can combine the visit with rafting on the Donggang.