Sinduri Coastal Sand Dunes

At the north-western tip of the Taean Peninsula, wind-built dunes spread out behind Sinduri Beach. These are the largest coastal sand dunes in Korea, designated a Natural Monument in 2001. Walking the boardwalks, you pass grassy hummocks, bare sand ridges and finally the Yellow Sea, one of the few places in the country where the landscape looks almost like a desert.

Hills made by the wind

The Sinduri dunes formed over about 15,000 years, after the end of the last Ice Age. Northwesterly winter winds blew sand from the wide tidal flats and beach towards the land, and dune plants such as sand sedge and beach grass anchored it with their roots, so the ridges gradually stabilised. Sources give the area as anywhere between about 1.7 and 2.64 million m², and almost every type of coastal dune landform found on the Korean peninsula can be seen here, which gives the site real scientific value.

The dunes also act as a buffer between land and sea. They protect the coastline from storms and surges, and rainwater soaking into the sand becomes groundwater that supplies both dune wildlife and the village.

Dunes that were saved

The area was once threatened by holiday lets and commercial development. After a campaign by conservation groups, part of the dune field was designated Natural Monument No. 431 in 2001. The dunes to the south, outside the protected zone, had already been developed and have changed considerably, which makes the surviving dunes all the more precious.

What to see on a walk

• Sand Dune Center: an exhibition hall at the entrance with a 3D film on how dunes form. If you book ahead, you can join one of three free guided walks a day.
• The trail: from the centre the path crosses grassland to the Rosa rugosa hill, a silver-grass hollow, Sunbigi Hill with its sea view, and a black-pine forest. The core dune area is strictly protected, so stay on the boardwalks and marked paths.
• Beach roses: Sinduri has Korea's largest colony of Rosa rugosa, whose pink flowers bloom on the sand from late spring into early summer.
• Wildlife: endangered species such as the Mongolian racerunner lizard, the golden frog and the narrow-mouthed toad live in the dune wetlands and grasses, and kestrels are often seen overhead.

Just behind the dunes lies Duung Wetland, listed as a Ramsar wetland in 2007, which makes an easy add-on.

Tripto tips

• Time needed: allow 1–2 hours for the centre and a loop of the trail, a little more if you walk on to Sinduri Beach.
• Opening: the Sand Dune Center is open 09:00–18:00 from March to October and 09:00–17:00 from November to February. Closing days may change, so check with the centre (+82-41-672-0499) before you go. Guided walks require a reservation.
• Best time: May–June for the beach roses and autumn for silver grass. Midsummer middays offer almost no shade and the sand gets hot, so walk early or late in the day.
• Getting there: local buses from Taean town to Sindu-ri in Wonbuk-myeon are infrequent, so a car is easiest. It is about two hours' drive from the Seoul area, with parking in front of the centre.
• Please note: climbing the dunes or stepping on the plants damages them. On windy days the sand blows about, so sunglasses help.