This part of the wall is definitely worth a visit, it is very beautiful and in a very natural condition.
Joe told us about the history and the background of the wall and did a really good job as the tour guide. After the hike, we drove to a restaurant to have lunch, and it really was a good tasting meal.
On our way back, Joe helped us with some other questions we had (train to Shanghai/ nice Beijing duck restaurant), and made this day full success.
I can only recommend to ask Joe to be your tour guide, you will have a wonderful time with him on the wall!
Visited June 2013
The Routes of Four-Day Hikes
Route 1 Tour Code: G4A
Difficulty
Day 1: Gubeikou Great Wall to Jianshanling Great Wall(L+D,appx.4 hours hike)
Gubeikou Great Wall in old days is very strategically important because the valley blocked by this section of the Great Wall is the north gateway of the capital. In order to make sure the capital is safe, the emperor invested a lot of money to make the Great Wall here strong enough.
The general at that moment mainly used bricks to build this section of the Great Wall, because the color of the bricks are brown so the color of the Great Wall here is also brown and this is the reason why I sometimes named here Gin&Tonic.
The view here is very nice, the distance of the Great Wall you can see here is about 30km, the Great Wall looks like a dragon zigzags on the ridges of mountains and there are so many towers here. The speciality here is the character bricks. The hike here is pretty hard especially in summer time because there is a military forbidden area here so we need to walk through the jungle part of the hike, in summer time there are quite a lot of flies and bugs, bug spray is very necessary. The hike here need about 4 hours.
After the hike on the wall,we will have supper in a local restaurant. After that we will take you to the tower on the Great Wall to camp if you want,otherwise we will stay in a local farmhouse.
Day 2:Jiankou Great Wall(L+D,appx.3 hours hike)
After waking up, you can have a look of the sunrise on the Great Wall and take some pictures and then have your breakfast. Pack all your stuff and get on the car, this morning we will drive about 2 hours to the Jiankou Great Wall.
Jiankou section is well-known in Beijing, this section of Great Wall is almost 100% wild without renovation. You don’t need to worry about the crowds.The mountains here are so steep and the valleys here are so deep, all these things here make the Great Wall look like electrocardiogram with so many ups and downs. The foundation of this section of the Great Wall is made of dolomite, it is very white and eye-catching.Tonight we stay in a local farmhouse which is very clean and quiet at night.
Day 3:Jiankou Great Wall to Mutianyu Great Wall(L+D,appx.3 hours hike)
This section of Great Wall locates right north of Beijing about 120km. The color of the wall here is white and grey because the material used to build the wall here is limestone and bricks.
Jiankou Great Wall is very famous in Beijing because here is kind of off-beaten-path,compared with crowded Badaling section and Mutianyu section here is rather quiet.
Buddha Head ,Eagle Flies Upward,Beijing Knot and Nine-Eye Tower are well-known here.
The hike of Jiankou section is quite hard especially for people who are afraid of high because some of the stairs here are very steep looking like heaven's ladder but the view is stunning, you feel like being surrounded by pyramids because the watch towers are all built on the top of cliffs make them look like pyramids.
The hike here will take about 4 hours depends on pace.Tonight we stay in a local farmhouse which is very clean and quiet at night.
Day 4:Huanghuacheng Great Wall to Xishuiyu or Water Great Wall(L,appx 3 hours hike)(has been substituted by another section due to regulation)
This morning after breakfast we will drive about 1 hour to Huanghuacheng Great Wall.
Huanghuacheng Great Wall has another name called Water Great Wall. The reason why people named it Water Great Wall is that the Huanghuacheng Great Wall is cut by two rivers. Firstly the Great Wall snaking into water, then come out, keep snaking to west about 4-5 km, then meet another river, the Great Wall plunges into the water again here and then climb up to mountain ridge. Huanghuacheng Great Wall is the only section of the Great Wall where you can enjoy the view of Great Wall, mountains and water the same time. The water here makes people refresh just likes drinking a glass of Fresh Lemongrass Martini.
The hike here is quite hard. The slope here is steep. It mixes with old and new you will feel the contrast between them. It takes 3-4 hours.
After the hike ,we will drive about 2 hours 30 minutes to Beijing city area to your hotel.
Detailed itinerary
Day 1:
pick you up from your hotel at 8:30 in the morning,drive about 2 hours to Geibeikou Great Wall,hike on the wall about 4 hours,distance is about 10 km, have lunch in a local restaurant,walk around the village by yourself,have dinner,take you to the watch tower for camping if you don’t want to camp or the weather is bad will stay in a farmhouse overnight.
Day 2:
have breakfast about 7 am,drive about 2 hours to Jiankou Great Wall,hike on the wall about 4 hours,distance is about 7 km.have lunch in a local restaurant,walk around the village by yourself,have dinner, stay overnight in a farmhouse in a Great Wall village.
Day 3:
have breakfast about 8am ,drive about 30 minutes to the wall, hike on the wall about 4 hours,distance is about 8 km,have lunch in a local restaurant,drive about 1 hour 30 minutes to Huanghuacheng Great Wall,walk around the village by yourself, have dinner,stay overnight in a farmhouse in a greatwall village.
Day 4:
have breakfast about 8am,drive about 10 minutes to the wall,hike on the wall about 4 hours,distance is about 7 km,have lunch in a farmhouse,drive about 2 hours back to your hotel.
Price Table
| Group size | 1pax | 2pax | 3pax | 4pax | 5pax | 6pax | 7pax | 8pax | more | |
| Price RMB each | camp | 9380 | 5560 | 5080 | 4680 | 4380 | 4080 | 3860 | 3790 | Contact us |
Included
Private car with AC and experienced driver
Tasty lunch
Entrance fee
Bottled water
Exclude
Drinks
Personal expense
Travel insurance
Cable car/slide
Tips
1:proper shoes,good boots is recommended.
2:raincoat is recommended to bring.
3:backup memory card and battery is recommended to bring because countryside is difficult to get these things.
4:certain amount of cash is recommended to take because there is no ATM or bank in the village we will stay.
5:snacks and walking poles are recommended to bring with you,if you are easy to get hungry and your balance is not good.
6:summer time sunglasses,sunblock,wide-brim hat,bug spray and long pants/long sleeve T-shirt are recommended.
For more custom-made four-day hikes please contact us.
Please tell us more about the tour you're after (ie number in your party, info about kids, your dietary preference) or write your comments/ questions below.
Booking
Please fill in the form below and we'll reply to you within 24 hours.Note: You don't pay for the trip until after the trip has taken place. You could pay cash to your tour guide when you are picked up. No pre-payment or deposit is required at reservation. Your money will be safe. Both RMB and US dollar are acceptable.