BY Sharn Kleiss
Herb Hillz, located in Daegu is an “eco-friendly” theme park. I’m not too sure how it’s eco-friendly, but they do have a lot of plants around and it is sort of “nature” themed.
The main appeal of the park is the zip lining course. There are 6 levels to choose from, though as a tour group were only offered “King Kong” (Level 5, which I did) and “Gorilla” (Level 4). Before going up on the courses, we were fitted with harnesses, gloves and helmets and given a run through on how to attach the carabiners. The King Kong course took about 40 minutes and included four awesome zip lines. It wasn’t too scary or difficult, but if you’re afraid of heights, it would be challenging! Once you’re up there, you’re on your own, without attendants.
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The other draw card is the animals. There is the “Noah’s Ark” area with some rabbits, a forlorn sheep and a couple of friendly goats. There is also “Zoo Zoo Land” with a donkey, monkeys, deer, and a few other exotic animals. If you want to feed them, you can pay 1000w for a cup of carrot sticks, or you can BYO as our tour guides did for us.
There’s also an opportunity to make your own arts and crafts, like soaps and flower pots. Kids would enjoy this, as well as the inflatable balls bobbing around in on a pool. Too bad there’s a weight limit – this looked fun!
There’s also a Viking ride and a couple of sideshow alley-type distractions. The park itself is quite scenic and shady. It would be nice for a picnic, date or stroll through the grounds. There are lots of photo “zones” for posing and a couple of trick photography setups. If you time it right, you may just catch one of the shows – as we all know there’s nothing like some KPOP singing and dancing to brighten your day!
There are a few eateries that sell Korean fare, as well as a coffee shop, ice cream vendors and a BHC fried chicken place. However, my friends and I took the cheap route and ate at the store just by the entrance. I had “Herb Bibimbap” for 5,500w which was a cold rice salad with flowers on top. Pretty interesting! They also had fish dishes and Donkass on offer. If you’re super cheap, there’s also the omnipresent CU convenience store by the entrance.
Image may be NSFW.
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The park opens from 9.30am and closes between 6 and 8pm, depending on the season. I went directly by bus with a tour group, with which my zip lining was included, but from what I gather entrance to the park is free, however zip lining, the animal show, the arts and crafts and other activities are payable separately. Expect to pay around 20,000w for the zip line course. If you’ve got a handle on the prices for the separate activities, please comment below.
Directions:
The address of the park is 534-1 Yonggye-ri, Gachang-myeon, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, South Korea.
Getting to the park is easiest by taxi from the KTX station – about 25 minutes and 10,000w.
There is also a public transport option by subway and bus that takes 45 minutes and a couple of transfers. Travel to Daegu Bank metro stop (not Daegu Station) and take Exit 2. By the Paris Baguette there is a bus stop. Take Express Bus 2 to Herb Hills. You’ll need to exit at 허브힐지(heobeu hilji?) and walk up the road. (NOTE – if these directions change, please comment below or send us an email).
