Great Wall Hiking 4-Day Tour

Distance: 6-8km

In the early morning, you will be collected from your accommodation for a wonderful day out Huanghuacheng. Hike westward to Xishuiyu when get on the Wall. The entire hike is around 2-3 hours or 6 km in distance. It is a long climb although the hike is easy. The stairs are sandy and slippery at some parts.

The final slope of the Huanghuacheng down to Xishuiyu is long and steep. The surface is dilapidated and slippery. You have to get off the wall before this final span and walk through the bushes down to Xishuiyu.

Your driver will take you to a local restaurant nearby for lunch then drive to a country guesthouse near Jiankou. Enjoy a country style dinner at the guesthouse in the evening and stay for night.

Distance: approx. 9 km

Drive to Jiankou with your belongings after breakfast. Start from Xizhazi village–around 587 m / 1926 ft above sea level. The hike is a decent uphill to reach the ruined tower–around 830 m / 2723 ft. above sea level–once leaving the village.

Due to the overgrown bushes on Jiankou, you have to walk along the very edge, quite high above the ground. There are a few vertical climbs and scrambles on the wall. After passing through many towers along the way reach the Ox Horn Edge–about 1011 m / 3317 ft. above sea level. From there take a forest detour past a campsite. It takes about 10 minutes to walk along the footpath back to the wall.

Passing through several towers we reach the RESTORED watchtower – Mutianyu. When ending up at the east side of the Mutianyu, either walking down the hill trail or going down by the toboggan or the cable car.

Lunch at a local farmer's restaurant nearby then drive to a country guesthouse near Gubeikou. Eejoy a country style dinner at the guesthouse in the evening and relax for the night.

Distance: 6–8 km

Start the walk on the wall after a short climb up to a tower. Walk eastbound along the wall to Jinshanling. Take a detour through Spider Valley when reaching the military land after 3 hours' hike. There is an abandoned house, complete with a well and a mid-sized water store in the middle of the Valley. And then we start to walk into the fields. Going through the hill trail in the fields takes 1.5 hours.

After 4-5 hrs hike, descend to the village at the base of Jinshanling. Check in at the guesthouse and enjoy a country style dinner.

Distance: approx. 8km

Along the way to Jinshanling we'll get a different view of the wall, walking a trail by the base of the Mongolia side, and making a few tricky ascents and descents on the way to the archway that will get us back on top. This section is the west side of the Jinshanling Great Wall.

We'll be following the Jinshanling Great Wall from west to east, starting off on the unrestored section before heading down into the main restored area. We'll head straight through the restored area, and on towards the Simatai Great Wall.

Access to the Simatai Great Wall from Jinshanling is still blocked, which means we can't finish up there. But we can walk out and back a few towers to get a little closer, and perhaps we'll get a preview of any new additions. After having a look, we'll head back to the tower that marks the end of the Jinshanling Great Wall. From there we will head down a park trail to finish at one of the carparks at Jinshanling.

After we finish the hike we'll have a late lunch (perhaps by the time we arrive it will be an early dinner) at a countryside restaurant and then drive back to Beijing.