I thought I was done exploring the main temples there were to see in Korea but I recently learned of one more undiscovered temple for a final weekend trip. A friend had actually invited me to go with her but I didnt understand what it was until I read her blog and saw her pictures. It was actually very impressive and unlike anything I had seen thus far so worth an extra effort to get there.

Guinsa was also featured in this months Korail travel magazine which gave more insight.

Guinsa Temple is the head temple of Cheontaejong, one of the three branches of Buddhism. Since the founding of Guinsa Temple in Yeonhwaji in Sobaek Mountain in 1945, it has become one of the leading temples within Korea with 350 branch temples and missionary temples. It is especially known for its wooden structure, the Daejosajeon, which is one of the best of its kind in existence. Twenty-seven meters in height, covered with golden roof tiles, and colourful dancheong, a truly magnificent grandeur fills the structure. If you want a special experience you may want to do a templestay. Even foreigners are welcome to participate, which includes prayer, making a lotus lamp, and drinking tea with a monk
Source : Korail Magazine July 2013

Getting to Guinsa is a bit of a pain which I'll explain in detail at the end. From Seoul there are direct buses but because I was coming from Daegu it wasnt that easy even though it was only about a two hour drive if coming by car. Public transportation along the eastern side of the country is not that well served as the larger cities are mostly along the western side and the south.

I had to take two trains to get me to Danyang station. I planned on taking a cab first to the Gosu caves (see next entry) near the centre of town to keep out of the midday heat. However there was a bus waiting at the station that was going to the temple so I hopped on as the temple was going to be the more difficult location being situated well outside town

The temple is about 20km and a half hour ride from the train station. The bus cost 3500w ($3). On arrival at the temple it had its own bus terminal with arrivals from many cities including Daegu. However the buses are timed to arrive in the evening so people can stay overnight with return buses early the next morning.

The entrance roadway was a steep walk and I wasnt sure how far in the actual complex was. However it was very near and the buildings became visible after the first turn.

First you pass thru a main outer gate before passing to an inner gateway. Normally these have the temple gods but in this case it was an elevated stone lookout

Guinsa also has a templestay program for foreigners and the large accommodation for visitors was near the front gate. The inner complex continued thru another long steep roadway.

The complex runs the length of a narrow valley so it is very scenic seeing all the architecture crowded together in a long narrow path. Rather then start exploring buildings I decided to go all the way to the end and work my way back

The path continued with an inclined elevation and stairs. The interior of the complex was more residential for the monks with living quarters and rows of fermenting jars stored outside. The buildings kept leading further in with more staircases leading up

Finally at the top of one flight of stairs was a large building so I decided to go in as the heat was intense. There was an elevator with some people going to the top floor so I joined in not knowing where they were going.

The 7th floor opens to a beautiful rooftop plaza overlooking the valley below. There is a large meditation walking maze in the centre. To the end was a giant three tiered pagoda styled building

Inside was a shrine which appeared to be for the founder. The interior was massive with the decorations stretching all three stories up to the peak of the roof.

Back in the building I had taken the elevator to come up from I decided to work my way down each floor.

The 5th floor was a large hall with a Buddhism workshop taking place. There was a monk on the stage leading instruction with the books all the participants had. It looked like something you see on the Buddhist TV channels.

The other floors in the building were large sleeping halls for attendees with their luggage left beside their sleeping mats

I now worked my way back slowly thru the complex exploring the buildings I had passed by on my way in. The architecture was incredible and very scenic with perfect weather today

It appears a lot of the buildings are actually dorms for the monks or attendees. There was a male dorm building, a female dorm building, and a separate dorm building for attendees.

The central area is communal with kitchens, dining hall, and rows upon rows of fermenting jars.

There were some shrines in some of the other buildings. An interesting architectural design were elevated walkways connecting the buildings. There were two at different levels above each other. One was on giant stilts.

Also amazing were giant bugs and insects all over the place. As a spiritual place they seemed quite tranquil and I tried to avoid stepping on any.

There was another large building with a triple gold buddha shrine on the top floor. The lower floors were large sleeping halls separated by men and women on each respective floor.

The stairwell was beautifully decorated with various murals

How to Get to Guinsa

Due to its remote setting Guinsa can be a bit difficult to reach. The closest town is Danyang which has frequent hourly buses to the site. Coming from Seoul its also very easy to reach with frequent buses arriving directly at the temple.

If coming from Daegu or other towns its a bit problematic. While there are direct buses they are timed for an overnight stay so will arrive evening with a return bus early next morning. If planning a day trip you will have to connect thru another town.

I was able to take two trains from Daegu to arrive at Danyang. The return train is every odd numbered hour and will only go as far as Andong from which you would have change for an onward journey. I ended up returning by bus and they told me in the bus terminal I could take a bus to Yeongju (running hourly) and then connect to a direct bus to Daegu.

From the Danyang train or bus terminal there is an hourly bus for 3500w ($3) or you can take a cab

On the approach road leading in there is also an 'Ondol Tourist Resort Village'. Aside from many souvenir shops and restaurants there is a replica palace and fortress walls that may have been used in a TV drama. I'm not sure if you can go in but it's nice to look at from the outside.

As a final temple I will probably visit in Korea it truly was one of the most stunning ones to go out on. There are more descriptions of the buildings on their website
http://temple.cheontae.org/001_eng.html ?hcode=content01_3