Great Wall Trekking
West Jiankou to Middle Jiankou Great Wall Trekking
This 15km Jiankou Great Wall trek leads us to the less visited Wild Jiankou Great Wall. It's a mecca for photographers and a real treat for adventurers. The views are magic and usually there is nobody around.
- Key Info
- Discounts & Inclusions
Meeting/drop-off point: Lama temple subway exit B (How to get there?)
A delightful camping trip with China Hiking to an unfamiliar (to me) section of the Great Wall. Heidi and Fred have dedicated years to researching scores of hidden pathways leading from the villages and lonely sections of small rural roads to sections of the wall that can then be followed for a stretch before eventually descending again, sweaty but enriched.
great wall trekking
great wall trekking
After a delicious buffet lunch at a local eatery, everyone can go at their own pace. The triathlon-level athletes can go ahead, reach the top first and explore the watch towers and summit sections before the others arrive. Photographers, would-be athletes, lapsed athletes and complete non-athletes, children can go at their own pace. China Hiking has a team of guides on every trip to help those who need it and make sure everybody gets to the top in the end.
But don’t underestimate the power and stamina of children. Our two eleven year olds stormed ahead at times carrying their day packs and fluffy mascot animals that would later serve as pillows, leaving us in a cloud of dust!
Can a selfie stick also serve as a walking stick? That’s for you to find out….
The photographs you take home are of the wild wall. No smooth surfaces. Clumps of bushes, even trees growing out of the stonework. It’s amazing how much of this structure survives relatively intact after hundreds of years of neglect.
Charman Mao said “You’re not a hero until you have climbed the Great Wall”. Later he also encouraged the locals to harvest the stones for local building projects. But the Wall has always been way too mighty to yield to such actions. It’s simply colossal and magnificent. It follows an incongruous and irregular, often complex path across the landscape. It is still capable of keeping people from the north out! But Fred and Heidi have located hundreds of access points. Once you are on the wall you can admire the views and appreciated the refreshing breezes. Then off into the sunset to find a camping spot. In our case, this meant camping either on the wall itself or inside and on the roof of a watch tower. We feel privileged to be able to do this as sit around a blazing camp fire and exchange stories and banter. There is nobody else around for miles. The mule that carried our dinner has long returned to the valley. Below, the twinkling of village lights. Above the twinkling of the stars. The alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks you have diligently carried up here will taste marvelous in the open air. And if you’re lucky, somebody will have brought some marshmallows to roast on the embers.
great wall camping
great wall camping
great wall camping
great wall camping
great wall camping
Back at my workplace, I can look back on a superb trip. We had excellent weather conditions, dry enough to allow us to camp without the outer layer on the tent and gaze at the moon until we fell asleep.
I will be back for another trip with Fred and Heidi as soon as I can.
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Private tours are great way to travel if you have a group of friends, family or colleagues ready to explore nature. Also for school trips or company team building activities a private tour is the way to go. We have experience guiding trips with up to 60 people from international schools and companies. Price of private tours will vary depending on the number of people, the chosen transport and accommodation. Let us know your desires and we will customize a trip for you. Open tour
Are you planning far ahead but your favorite trip is not on our schedule at the time you’re coming to China? Are you an indepentdant traveler that wants to keep the costs as low as possible? Just let us know your favorite trip and starting date at least 6 weeks in advance and we will add your trip to our hiking agenda. As soon as we have 6 people joining the trip we are good to go!
Private tour prices for West Jiankou to Middle Jiankou Great Wall Trekking(2days)
Prices are per person and include:
Pick up and drop off by private bus at your hotel ( Please let us know the pick up address)
English speaking guide, entrance tickets, hiking sticks
All meals as described in the itinerary and water for during the hike
Overnight stay in the farmhouse
| Group Size | Price pp in CNY | Price pp in USD | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | Kids <18 | Adults | Kids <18 | |
| 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 4 | 2100¥ | 1890¥ | 318$ | 286$ |
| 5 | 1900¥ | 1710¥ | 287$ | 259$ |
| 6 | 1800¥ | 1620¥ | 272$ | 245$ |
| 7 | 1750¥ | 1575¥ | 265$ | 238$ |
| 8 | 1700¥ | 1530¥ | 257$ | 231$ |
| 9 | 1650¥ | 1485¥ | 250$ | 225$ |
| 10 | 1600¥ | 1440¥ | 242$ | 218$ |
| 15+ | please contact us for larger group prices | |||
Day 1: Jiankou Great Wall
Hiking distance: 7km / 4h
Farmhouse stay
Incl. meals: lunch, dinner
Day 2: Middle Jiankou Great Wall
Hiking distance: 8km / 4h
Incl. meals: breakfast
Highlights
Wild & restored Great Wall
Authentic farmhouse meals
Don't see the date you want?
Don't see the date you want?
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: West Jiankou Great Wall
From our meeting point (Lama temple subway station) we drive for about 2 hours till we reach picturesque Dazhenyu village. Before we start the Jiankou Great Wall trek we enjoy a good farm house lunch in yard surrounded by chestnuts and with a view on the Jiankou Great Wall. Today it’s an 8 km trek with a total ascend of 600 meter so you ll need a fair bit of energy to make it to the top.
The start of this Jiankou Great Wall trek is immediately amazing. The Great Wall drops down into WangQuan ( spring valley) valley and climbs back out almost vertical. We ascend about 500 following a small trail up the mountain for about 1 hour until we reach the Great Wall at second beacon tower. From here it’s all about enjoying the scenery.
West Jiankou to Middle Jiankou Great Wall Trek, (A view of Jiankou West Great Wall watchtower at sunrise)
As our trek on the Great Wall continues you can enjoy fantastic views of the valleys and the middle Jiankou Great Wall. We will walk trough and over 7 beacon towers , the best preserved ones are called the 5 eye watchtower and the Jade tower.
West Jiankou to Middle Jiankou Great Wall Trek
At a highest point of our hike we reach a Great Wall intersection and follow the Wall towards middle Jiankou. This part of the hike is all down hill till the end of the hike. You’ll need a little balance here once in while but it’s all safe. At the wall’s lowest point we follow a small trail that curls trough the forrest and ends up right at our guesthouse in Zhuanghu village.
The guest house is a farm house run by a friendly local couple. The Chinese country style rooms are clean and the chef will kook us an excellent organic dinner.
Day 2: Middle Jiankou Great Wall
Today we make an early start and head for middle Jiankou . It’s a 4 hours trek with scenic views of the famous Jiankou’s sky ladder and Beijing knot.
Jiankou Great Wall Trek
About 2,5 hour into the hike we arrive at the “Beijing knot” where the Great Wall splits in 3 directions. One section leads southwest to the famous Jiayuguan Great Wall. The second Great Wall section extends all the way to the ocean and the 3rd Great Wall goes North to Simatai Great wall.
From a distance this Great Wall junction looks like a giant bow, locals call it the silk bow. After the Beijing knot the most dangerous part of the Jiankou Great wall will become visible,”The Flying Down Eagle” . Here the Great Wall is constructed on steep cliffs and looks like an eagle hurling down the mountains.
This section of the Great Wall is only reachable by rope ladders the locals call “the staircases to heaven”. We leave this section to professional climbers and make a short detour to the bottom of the sky ladder. The hikes continues on top of the Great Wall towards the “General guarded pass”.
Level 2: Medium-Strong
We rate the Jiankou Great Wall trek Level 2 because there is a decent 1 hour climb to start with. On this part of the hike there is no shade so definitely bring a hat in the summer. You’ll need a bit of balance for the hike down as the way down can be slippery so hiking boots are excellent for this trail. As usual we take a relax pace so everybody with an average to good physical condition can join the Jiankou Great Wall trek. The second day of the Jiankou Great Wall trek is a bit more relax.
Planning a trip ahead or want a private tour?
