Not to miss

P'yongyang

Pyongyang is a superb example of the regime's determination to project its image of progress, discipline and the well-being of its citizens. Don't expect a bustling Asian capital alive with street hawkers and televisions being carried on the backs of bicycles. In fact, don't even expect bicycles.

The city is built around the banks of the Taedong River. The most amazing thing about the river is the two mid-river fountains that rise to a height of 150m (492ft), reputedly the highest in the world. Your first day out in the city will undoubtedly be a guided tour by car.

One of the city's main monuments is the Tower of the Juche Idea, a 170m (557ft) high needle on the east bank of the Taedong. You will also surely be taken to see the Triumphal Arch, which marks the spot where Kim Il Sung made his rallying speech after the Japanese were routed.

The Kim Il Sung Stadium is one of the world's largest, and the Chollima Statue, a bronze Pegasus representing the high-speed progress of the North's reconstruction, are both worth a look. There is a generous handful of museums and monuments to Kim Il Sung and the Revolution, but you may wish to see more traditional sights, such as two of the old city gates, the Chilsong and Taedong Gates.

Haeju

This port city is 130km (80mi) due south of Pyongyang. You can take a boat to numerous offshore islets, or explore the sandy beaches when the tide is out. The nearby mountain of Suyangsan (945m/368ft) boasts a fort pleasure ground with statues, slogans and other reminders of the Great Leader.

Myohyangsan

Mount Myohyang and the pristine surrounding area of hills, mountain trails and waterfalls (completely untouched by mass tourism) make for a charming trip. If you begin to miss the relentless pomp and propaganda of Pyongyang, the International Friendship Exhibition (IFE) will remind you that you are still very much in North Korea.

Myohyangsan means 'mountain of mysterious fragrance' and it's certainly no misnomer. The scenery is quite wonderful, and in summer awash with flowers. The focus of all trips are, however, the two vast shrines that make up the IFE. The first one contains all the gifts presented to the eternal president Kim Il Sung. Among the highlights of the 100,000 item collection is a beautiful armoured train carriage presented to him by Mao Zedong and a limousine sent to Kim by that great man of the people, Josef Stalin. The second shrine houses the gift warehouse of Kim Jong Il, which is full of booty donated by industrialists, like countless TV's, rather than tributes from fellow despots.

Having completed a tour of both exhibits, the perfect way to unwind from the seriousness is with some walking on the beautiful mountain trails. Sangwon Valley is the most common place for a hike and is directly northeast of the IFE.

Panmunjeom

Ironically the sad sight of a pointlessly divided nation remains a highlight of any trip to North Korea. Even if you're just in North Korea for a couple of days, you'll be taken here as the DPRK is very keen to show off what it considers the net result of American imperialism.

While military history buffs will be in their element, you don't have to be an expert to appreciate the weirdness of the site where the bloody Korean War ended in an unhappy truce. Seeing the situation from the North, facing off against US troops to the south is a unique chance to witness things from a new perspective.

Among the stops on your DMZ tour is the Armistice Talks Hall where the negotiations were held and the truce eventually signed on 27th July 1953.

Paekdusan

Paekdu, one of the most stunning sights on the Korean peninsula, straddles the Chinese-Korean border in the very far northeastern tip of DPRK. Apart from being the country's highest mountain at 2744m (9000ft), and an amazing geological phenomenon (an extinct volcano with a vast crater lake at its centre), it's also of huge mythical importance to Koreans.

The huge crater lake called Chonji ('Lake of Heaven') lies at the summit, surrounded by bare rocky crags. It is one of the deepest alpine lakes in the world, and although it's fed by two hot springs, it is also one of the coldest.

Paekdusan is sacred to all Koreans, because according to Korean mythology it is where the 'Son of the Lord of Heaven' descended to earth and the first Korean kingdom began.

North Korea's current history books also claim that the Dear Leader established his headquarters here in the 1920s and defeated the Japanese from there. Although no history books outside of North Korea claim the region was a battlefield during WWII, plenty of revolutionary and anti-imperialist slogans have been carved on the trees. Many more of these 'slogan-bearing trees' are being discovered every year, and most are so well preserved that you'd think they were carved yesterday.

Revisionist history aside, the real reason to visit Paekdusan is the natural beauty of the area-vast tracts of virgin forest, abundant wildlife, lonely granite crags, fresh springs, gushing streams and dramatic waterfalls - and, for those able to make the steep and treacherous climb, the astounding Jong-Il peak. It is only accessible from around late June to mid-September due to foul weather and can only be reached by charter flight.