IT'S a rainy November day on Jeju Island and the leaves have turned yellow and red.

The top of Aloreum, on Olle trail route No 1, is difficult to make out. Fog drifts over it like mist at the base of a waterfall. One of Olle's most famous spots, Aloreum is one of Jeju's many oreums — volcanic cones that look like small mountains or hills.

The spot is usually filled with visitors determined to enjoy its fabled panoramic view.

But this time, there is only haze and the smell of grass, with a rare sense of tranquility in a serene, almost sacred atmosphere. Around this spot, people are encouraged to be slow and act like a gansedari, which means a lazybones in Jeju dialect. You would miss out on a lot by walking too quickly.

Jeju Olle is 250km of connecting paths that take hikers all along the south coast of the island. Suh Myung-sook, former editor of OhmyNews and founder and president of Jeju Olle Foundation thought of creating the trail routes on Jeju after making her own pilgrimage to Spain's Camino de Santiago in 2006.

She returned that year to Jeju, where she was born and raised, and set up a team to create trails by restoring old, hidden paths that are not accessible to cars. The paths lead across the islands unique, volcanic landscape, with exquisite sea shores, oreum, and black stone walls made of Jejus signature basalt.

"I think walking is the most humane way of travelling," Suh had said during an Olle trail event on Jeju the day before. "Being slow and old fashioned in this digital era is more like a quiet revolution."

As the fog gets heavier, the path becomes muddy and slippery with rain. But there is more than a slippery slope to slow me down. The heavy moisture enhances the scent of mud and tiny little flowers, causing me to stop and take in the air. As I inhale, I hear the beating of my heart, and the pulsing of my blood.

Many travel writers say this is the very charm of walking.

"You get to use all your senses," celebrated travel writer Han Bi-ya, who calls Aloreum the most beautiful scenery of the whole universe, said in a speech on Jeju just the day before. "You listen, you smell, and you discover. And most of all, you get to discover yourself."

With the smell of the wet leaves and stones, I forget my initial goal. The hiking is no longer about getting to the top of the oreum, but about rambling as much as you please. Its hard not to slow down and appreciate the surroundings, in spite of the rain, especially the pastel-colored wild flowers and the vast, all-season green fields complimented by autumn leaves.

I finally reached the top and found my shoes completely covered with mud. The rain was still pouring and I looked ridiculous in my tacky raincoat, but feel rather contented, surrounded by the panoramic view of the island. Listening to the rhythmic rattle of rain, a warm sense of joy settled on my shoulders and spread down to my toes. I was alone with nature — a rare, fascinating moment for a city person.

Six hours prior to the Aloreum visit, I took Jeju Olle route No 6, which starts at Jeju's Soesokkak estuary. It is the opening day of 2011 Jeju Olle Walking Festival.

Hikers from Korea and abroad are gathered at the entrance of the trail, wearing Olle-themed green and sky-blue scarves decorated with silly-but-cute badges and charms. We took route No 6, a 14km course which cuts through downtown Seogwipo and leads past Cheonjiyeon Falls, and finishes at Oedolgae rock.The Korea Herald/ANN