Find the tomb of King Michu, watch the exercising locals and hike around the sprawling Tumuli Park to give your own body a workout.
“Tumuli,” the plural for “tumulus” in Latin, means “mounds.” These grassy hills are dotted all over Gyeongju, but there were so many in this one spot that from the 1970s onwards the area was cleared from building and reserved to create the historic parkland you see today.
Gyeongju’s Tumuli Park looks either completely green or completely yellow, depending on the time of year you visit. Either way, the two dozen or so rounded hills that contain the ancient graves are a fascinating sight.
As you walk, or jog, around, you’ll soon spot two tombs together where a queen and a king were buried side by side. This site is called Hwangnam Daechong.
King Michu, who reigned from 262 to 284, is also buried in the complex. His mound is referred to as the “tomb of the bamboo chief,” a nickname based on a folk legend.
Head all the way west to find Cheonmachong, to visit the only tomb in South Korea that you can step inside. “Cheonma” means “heavenly horse,” but nobody knows who was buried here.
To see more of the relics and artifacts that were found in this tomb and in other Silla Kingdom palaces, temples and graves, visit the Gyeongju National Museum.
South Korea’s cherry blossom season is at its height in April, which makes this the busiest time of year in Tumuli Park. Sometimes there are volunteers who will lend you traditional Korean costumes for children to dress up in, so bring your camera along to shoot some cute pictures of your little princes or princesses.
If all the selfie-sticks get to you on busy days, head to the southern end of the park, where tourist buses don’t have drop-off points.
There is a small fee to access Tumuli Park in Gyerim-ro. You can easily get there by taxi or on a bus from the center of Gyeongju. If it’s not too hot and not raining, rent a bike or walk for 20-30 minutes to the northern entrance on Taejong-ro. This is the main thoroughfare which also has the local bus terminal.
