GWPA31- Discovery Great Wall Hiking:
Three-day Jiankou, Gubeikou to Simatai West (private)

Trip name: Discovery Great Wall Hiking: Three-day Jiankou, Gubeikou to Simatai West (private)
Trip code: GWPA31
Trip length: 3 Days
Hiking sections: Jiankou, Mutianyu, Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai West
Meeting point and time: Your hotel at 08:00 on Day 1
Finishing point and time: Your hotel at 16:00 on Day 3
Hiking duration: 5 hours on Day 1, 5 hours on Day 2, 3 hours on Day 3
Best time to go: Late March to early November
Physical rating: ★★★★★ Strenuous
Departure: Your selected date, start and finish in Beijing, all year round

Prices

Group Size	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Price USD	420	435	450	465	480	525	560	890

All Prices shown are in USD (United States Dollar) and based per person and for twin-shared accommodations for multi-day hiking.For group sizes over 9 please send us an email request to obtain the best possible rate.

Children under age 12 receive 50% discount. Children under 5 are free. Children’s price is based on adult travelers. Please send us children’s details in email.

Remember when comparing price, you get what you pay for. We don’t earn money by taking you to commissioned shopping stops, a common practice in China, wasting your time. Our guides are carefully selected, highly trained and well-paid to be friendly and patient travel companions. We are not the cheapest, but we are one of the best.

Highlights

Untouched sections of the Great Wall at Jiankou, Gubeikou & Simatai West
Restored sections of the Great Wall at Mutianyu & Jinshanling
Stunning photo opportunity of the Great Wall
Accommodation and food at local farmer’s guesthouses
Hotpot lunch

Detailed itinerary

The wild wall at Jiankou to Gubeikou displays the ruined and original condition of the wall. Mutianyu, Jinshanling and Simatai vary from tower to tower. Immerse yourself in the rural life in China and learn the details of locals. You will be rewarded by your effort and courage on the Great Wall of China.

Day 1 Beijing – Jiankou – Mutianyu (5 hours, 10 km hiking)

We will pick you up at 8 am at your hotel in Beijing and then drive to the Olympic venues for a 20-minutes walking. Select your favorite sandwich at Subway for your lunch on the Wall and then drive to Jiankou (2.5 hours). We will start the hiking at 11 am. You will hike on both restored and original walls. Shorts are not recommended since you will meander through jungles and bushes. We will drive to Gubeikou in late afternoon and stay at a local farmer’s guesthouse.

Jiankou to Mutianyu offers a wonderfully satisfying experience of the Wall. It has superb scenery, dense vegetation and many fine watch-towers in an excellent restored section which is about six meters broad. The brickwork is elaborate, with crenellations on both sides and finely curved eaves on some watch-tower roofs. There are decorative gables with animal statues, and tablets bearing calligraphy above some entrances. The first one hour is going straight up and reaches the wall, and then hikes the unrestored towers. The wild Wall to the west is the original Ming Dynasty with fine stonework, and there are almost no other people. You will be rewarded when you approach Zhenbeilou Tower, where you will have a breathtaking view of Jiankou section. There will be a sharp contrast when you arrive at Mutianyu section with the restored wall and towers.

We will provide you with water and snacks and you need a day pack to carry these stuff. We will stay at a traditional local farmer’s guesthouse at Gubeikou village which played important role in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) to defend the capital. There’s chance to walk around the village and try home-made local farmer’s food.

Meals: picnic lunch, dinner

Accommodation: local farmer’s guesthouse at Gubeikou village

Day 2 Gubeikou – Jinshanling (5 hours, 10km hiking)

Get up at 8 am and finish breakfast by 9:00 am and then start the hike today. It will take about 5 hours hiking on the wall. This is a long but leisure day. We will come back to Gubeikou village again after the hike.

Gubeikou, along with the passes at Shanhaiguan and Juyongguan, was a key strategic target in military campaigns since ancient times. Protecting these three passes was considered vital for keeping Beijing safe from the Mongolian nomads. This is a flat valley further to the west, one of vital importance since it connected the Mongolian Plateau to the north with the vast fertile plains of north China. The vistas of the sinuous Wall snaking its way over the ridges of the Yanshan are breathtaking.

After 2 hours hiking on the wall of Gubeikou section, we have to get off the wall to avoid a military area nearby. Going through the path in the field for 1.5 hours, and then we will come back to the wall again at the Jinshanling section.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Accommodation: local farmer’s guesthouse at Gubeikou village

Day 3 Jinshanling – Simatai West (3 hours, 5 km hiking) – Beijing

We will drive to Jinshanling in 20 minutes after breakfast, and start the hike at 8am.It’s the right time to produce amazing photographs. At this time there are usually no other tourists on the wall, you have the wall to yourself. It will take about 3 hours hiking on the wall. We will get off the wall near Kylin Tower and then drive back to the city.

This section offers arguably the finest hiking anywhere on the Great Wall. It is extremely photogenic, with over 15 watch-towers, and steep gradients that give constantly changing perspectives and wide, open views. There is fascinating variety in the watchtowers here. Some have two storeys, others three. Some have flat roofs, others rounded and others again are pitched with upturned eaves. This section of the wall is wild, ruined, preserved and original. On a clear day, it is difficult to fail to take good photographs here.

We will organize a unique Hotpot lunch when back to the city. Hotpot is originally from Sichuan Province and now is popular all over China. You can choose Plain or Spicy one as you like. This is also a good opportunity to practice your chopstick skills. We will drop you off at your hotel after lunch and our service ends here.

Meals: breakfast, lunch

Additional Information

Included

Comfortable air-con vehicle with experienced driver
Fully-escorted personal expert English-speaking hiking tour guide
Entrance fees of all section of the Great Wall as listed
2 nights twin-shared accommodation at local farmer’s guesthouse
Unlimited bottled water; snacks; meals as listed in the itinerary
A certificate of completion for hiking on the Great Wall of China

Not included

Travel insurance
Cable car, chairlift, toboggan (slideway) or any other additional local facilities
Personal expenses
Tipping of hiking guide/driver recommended on good service on a 2:1 ratio separately

What to take

Comfortable boots,
Sunscreen,
Sun-glasses,
First aid kit,
Lip balm, cap

Notes

You will hike the Wall from A to B every day and your belongings will go with the can/van directly to the accommodation, and you need a day pack to carry water, snacks and other stuff.
Travel insurance is optional and is the sole responsibility of travellers. It is strongly encouraged to have coverage of injury or accident.
There is no toilet along the path on the Wall. There are toilets at the entrance of Jiankou, Mutianyu, Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai West, otherwise be prepared to commune with nature. Please prepare before hiking and always carry toilet paper by yourself.
Unlimited bottled waters are stored in our car/van every day.
We will bring trekking poles in our car/van and please tell your guide if you need one.
Since this trip will go through jungles and bushes, then long pants with zip-off legs will be the best in summer time and shorts are not recommended.
You will be followed by local farmers when starting the hike on Day 3. The farmers will give you help along the way, as a reward they will sell some souvenirs. If you don’t like this, you have to say NO firmly at the beginning (MAYBE LATER does not work in Chinese culture) or just ignore them and not speak a word with them; otherwise they can be persistent and follow you all the way on the Wall.
It’s recommended to prepare your own snacks before your departure from Beijing if you don’t like snickers.
Travel insurance is optional and is the sole responsibility of travellers. It is encouraged to have coverage of
As responsible travelers, we “take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprint”.

Customized Pick-up & drop-off:

If you plan the hike on the first or last day of your duration in Beijing, we can include a customized pick-up or drop-off at the following points without additional cost. It’s safe to store your luggage at our car/van.

Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK at T1/T2/T3): arrival before 7am or departure after 7pm
Beijing Railway Station: arrival before 8am or departure after 7pm
Beijing West Railway Station (train to/from Xi’an): arrival before 8am or departure after 7:30pm
Beijing South Railway Station (train to/from Shanghai): arrival before 8am or departure after 7pm

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