Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Great Wall camping on our favourite sunset spot.
The secret Sunset Great Wall section is located about 15km north from the famous Badaling Great Wall. It’s a 2-hour drive from our meeting point (Lama Temple Subway exit B) in Beijing
This Great Wall camping trip starts with a 30 minutes hike through an abandoned park followed by a 45 minute strong up hill hike through a dense forest. We pop out of the forest and climb onto the Great Wall at the highest point of this Great Wall section and pitch our tents on top of the Great Wall
Get ready to pitch your tent right here on our favourite sunset Great Wall camping spot
Sunset Great Wall to Chen Castle Great Wall camping
While the guides collect firewood and prepare dinner, you can go explore more parts of the Great Wall. You will find more watchtowers and the famous 180 degrees Great Wall Turn, a perfect place for pictures.
Sunset Great wall camping
The camping spot is very magical, having a view on the highest Great Wall in the north, miles and miles of Great Wall in the south and the Chen Castle General Tower in the east. We pitch our tents on top of the Great Wall and enjoy an excellent buffet style home cooked dinner. We fill the evening with sharing stories around the campfire and fall asleep by counting the stars.
Great Wall camping in style. Pitching our tents on the Great Wall of China
Day 2: Chen Castle Great Wall Hike
If you’d like to see a wild part of the Great Wall, then Chen Castle is your destination. Chen Castle Great wall is a well-preserved part of the wild great wall that combines famous staircases and great views. Chen castle was once the gateway for the army of Li Zicheng, the rebel leader who end the Ming Dynasty. Li Zhicheng tried to enter Beijing many times, but only succeeded by breaking the lines trough this Great Wall.
Chen Castle General Tower. Our first goal on day 2 of this Great Wall camping trip
After breakfast, we continue hiking on the crumbled and overgrown Great Wall,
This section of the Great Wall has never been renovated, so once in while we must side track a bit to avoid a few dangerous parts. Every 20 minutes you get a new scenery enfolding on this hike.
After 3 hour hiking on the Great Wall we reach the Chen Castle General Tower, the highest watchtower on this part of the wall. The steep and crumbled staircases of this wild Great Wall are overgrown with bush and trees.
Chen Castle Great Wall hiking
We keep following the wall as it goes slowly downhill over the mountain ridges.
A bit before noon we leave the Wall and follow a winding trail through a hills till we reach a small farmhouse where we will have a good countryside style lunch before we head back to Beijing.
Level 2: Medium-Strong
We rate this hike a level 2 (medium-strong) as both days’ hike start with a steep climb on the Great Wall. Both days we carry our camping equipment. The first day is short and easy hiking. On the second day the train is quit rough so be sure to wear good hiking shoes.
Planning a trip ahead or want a private tour?