Illustrative image, not a photograph
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Mount Myohyang

The Ten Thousand Waterfalls valley below Piro Peak, one of the few hikes ever offered to foreign visitors in North Korea

Difficulty
Moderate
Duration
The Manphok Valley round trip is about 8 km, roughly 3-4 hours; routes further toward Piro Peak take a full day
Summit elevation
1909 m

Not currently open to ordinary visitors

North Korea remains closed to almost all foreign tourism, with Russian nationals the only current exception. Independent travel does not exist: every visitor is assigned a state guide, and several governments, including the United States, advise against all travel here or restrict their citizens’ passports from being used for it. What follows describes what has been offered when the country has been open, for planning ahead of a reopening, not a trip you can book today.

Mount Myohyang rises to 1,909 m at Piro Peak, on the border of North and South Pyongan provinces, and has historically been one of the very few genuine hiking destinations included on foreign tour itineraries in North Korea alongside the more famous International Friendship Exhibition nearby. The main route follows Manphok Valley, whose name means "ten thousand waterfalls", past cascades and pools on a well-built path; Sangwon Valley offers a second, quieter route. The wider mountain has over 55 km of trail across several valleys, though a foreign tour typically covers only the short, accessible core.

Highlights

  • Manphok Valley's chain of waterfalls and pools
  • The quieter, less-visited Sangwon Valley route
  • Piro Peak, the mountain's 1,909 m summit
  • The International Friendship Exhibition nearby, usually visited on the same trip

Getting there

Mount Myohyang is reached only as a stop on a pre-arranged tour itinerary, typically a drive of a few hours from Pyongyang. There is no independent transport option, and the route, timing and stops are set by the tour operator and state guide, not the visitor.

Safety tips

The physical walk is straightforward, a well-built path past waterfalls with no technical difficulty. The real risk here is legal and political, not the terrain: foreign visitors have been detained in North Korea, sometimes over actions that would be trivial elsewhere, and the outcome has occasionally been fatal. Follow every instruction from the state guide without exception, do not photograph anything you are told not to, and check your own government's current travel advisory before considering this trip at all; several governments, including the United States, either advise against all travel to North Korea or restrict their citizens' passports from being used for it.

What to bring

  • Comfortable walking shoes; the path is well maintained and not technical
  • Cash in the currency your operator specifies, since cards are not usable
  • A copy of your own government's current travel advisory, read before you go, not after
  • Realistic expectations about photography and phone use, set by your guide rather than by you