Hwacheon’s Fragrant Medicinal Herb Village Healing Trip | Travel Course | K-Travel Mate

Since 2010, a wild herb cultivation complex, walking trails, deck roads, and medicinal herb exploration paths have been developed in Sangseo-myeon Bongo-ri to create Wild Herb Village, a forest bathing area and experiential facility. The aroma path for healing and an herb trail with more than 100 types of medicinal herbs have been established, offering relaxation for mind and body, as well as a harmonious experience for family visitors. For visitor convenience, explanatory signboards on the effects of wild herbs have been installed. A 3km hiking trail toward Biraebawi is available for hiking enjoyment. Additionally, a therapy center operates where visitors can experience wild herb cultivation, half-body baths, foot baths, chajun, and steam treatments. It became a more popular tourist attraction after being introduced on television.

Hwacheon Wood Culture Experience Center utilizes excellent wood produced from forests that cover 86% of Hwacheon-gun's area to provide a place where you can create and own unique wooden products with beautiful value. Wood is widely used not only as a building material for houses but also as an eco-friendly material closest to our daily lives, including furniture and crafts. The center offers various types of woodworking studios and experience rooms, serving as a fun playground for children to explore their dreams and imagination, as well as a rich workshop for adults providing comprehensive knowledge and information about wood and making daily use items and crafts.

Donggurae Village, derived from 'donggeuran' (round), symbolizes the seed and flower as the beginning of all things, with the village owner said to be the flower due to the beautiful blossoms. Covering about 1,000 pyeong, it is a wildflower complex where over 50 species of native wildflowers such as adonis amurensis, dicentra, clematis, and campanula can be seen. It plays a significant role in preserving and propagating seeds of native wildflower species.

Hwacheon Bisugumi Village is a remote village located in Dongchon-ri, Hwacheon-eup, Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon-do Special Autonomous Province. Long ago, the construction of Hwacheon Dam and Paro Lake blocked the road, turning it into an island within the land. The name Bisugumi means nine kinds of beauty created by mysterious water. The nine beauties (Gumi) include the sound of water, clouds, a valley where fire-fallow fields were cultivated, grilled icefish, wild vegetable set meals, a suspension bridge, motorboats, the Bimok Tower, and the World Peace Bell. In the unpolluted Bisugumi Valley, visitors can see beautiful natural scenery dense with primeval forests and rocks. Wild orchids and flowers bloom, and fish that live only in clear valleys such as mountain trout, striped shiners, icefish, and trout inhabit the area. There are two ways to reach Bisugumi Village: by boat or trekking the ecological trail. By boat, it takes less than 10 minutes. In contrast, the Bisugumi ecological trail is a deep and quiet forest path passing the Haesan Tunnel before reaching the Peace Dam in Hwacheon, taking about two hours to reach the village. In Bisugumi Village, visitors can rest comfortably with nature. There are homestays run by villagers, offering neat meals made from wild vegetables they pick themselves, soybean paste, and cheonggukjang. The village borders Paro Lake, where fishing is enjoyed, and motorboat rides allow sightseeing of Peace Dam, Bimok Park, and the World Peace Bell Park. Entry to Bisugumi Village is restricted during the natural rest year system, so permission is required for trekking or valley visits.