Namsan literally means "South Mountain". Or "a mountain in the south" ... From what in the south? From the royal palace, of course. Gyeongju, the 1000-year-old capital of the ancient Korean state of Silla, has its own Mount Namsan, and here it is also the most sacred.

Before the arrival of Buddhism in Silla, apparently, the mountain was sacred to the local pagans; but now it is still better known as a treasure trove of Buddhist artifacts. No wonder this area was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000: on an area of 2650 hectares, including Namsan Mountain itself and its environs, there are the remains of 122 temples, 53 stone statues, 64 pagodas, 16 stone lamps.

The harmony of nature and the soft, non-destructive influence of man give this place a unique charm. Relief and bas-relief images of buddhas and bodhisattvas, statues, picturesquely scattered on the slopes, naturally fit into the colorful landscape of low Korean mountains.

Sacred Namsan mountain