Great Wall Trekking

Jiankou - Huanghuacheng Great Wall Trekking

An epic 14 km Great Wall trek that covers 2 fantastic sections of the Beijing Great Wall. We hike Wild and overgrown Jiankou Great Wall and stay overnight in a farmhouse with view on the Great Wall. Day two we climb the beautifully restored Huanghuacheng Great Wall to its highest point and see the dramatic Ming Wall dropping into Huanghua lake.

  • Key Info
  • Discounts & Inclusions
  • Hiking Distance: 14km
  • Hiking Duration: 2 days
  • Hike level: 3 medium/strong
  • Departure time: 9:30 am
  • Back in Beijing: 16:30 pm
  • Price: 1600￥/265$

Meeting/drop-off point: Lama temple subway exit B (How to get there?)

Day 1: Jiankou Great Wall

Hiking distance: 7km / 4h

Farmhouse stay

Incl. meals: lunch, dinner

Day 2: Huanghuacheng Great Wall

Hiking distance: 7km / 4h

Incl. meals:  breakfast, late lunch

Highlights

Wild & restored Great Wall

Authentic farmhouse meals

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Wild Jiankou Great Wall Hiking 

From our meeting point (Lama Temple subway station exit B), we drive for about 2 hours till we reach the picturesque Dazhenyu village where we  enjoy a good farmhouse lunch in a yard  surrounded by chestnuts and with a view on the Jiankou Great Wall. Today we hike 8 km with a total ascend of 600 meters, so you need a fair bit of energy to make it to the top.

Our first Jiankou Great Wall watch tower of this trip

Our first Jiankou Great Wall watchtower of the Jiankou camping trip

Jiankou Great Wall hike is stunning from the first step and the higher we get the better the views over the surrounding mountains gets.

We follow an  uphill  trail through the bush for about 1 hour until we reach the Great Wall at the second beacon tower. During the first part of this hike, we will ascend about 500 meters. Once we arrive on the Great Wall, our uphill hiking is mostly done.

Jiankou Great Wall hiking

Hiking the Jiankou Great Wall

As the hike continues on top of the Great Wall, we enjoy fantastic views of famous Great Wall sections known as “The Wall Bow”, “Arrow Nock” and the “Beijing Knot”. We pass 7 beacon towers on this Jiankou Great Wall hike. The best-preserved ones are called the 5-eye watchtower and the Jade tower.

Jiankou Great wall trekking

Jiankou Great Wall Trekking

We climb the last watchtower to watch the sunset and make our way down to the valley towards our farmer friends for dinner and a good nights rest. The homestay is very nice with shower and toilets in the renovated rooms. The host are super friendly and their organic food comes strait  from their own backyard.

Day 2: Huanghuacheng Great Wall Hike 

The trail we hike today is about 6 km long (3 hours) and gives us an excellent opportunity to see some restored Great Wall away from the crowds.  Make sure to keep some space on your memory card because you might snap your perfect picture right here  at Huanghuacheng Great Wall 🙂

Huanghuacheng Great wall hike

Huanghuacheng Great Wall hike

After breakfast, we go for a short drive and start our Huanghuacheng Great Wall hike. The Huanghuacheng Great Wall  is almost 11 kilometers long and joins with Mutianyu Great Wall in the east, Juyongguan Great wall Pass and Badaling Great Wall in the west.

Lake view from today's highest point at Huanghuacheng Great Wall.

Lake view from today’s highest point at Huanghuacheng Great Wall.

We hike on top of this fabulous Ming Great wall all the way down to the lake where we finish in style with a splendid lunch and cold beers.

By 4 pm we will be back in at our Beijing meeting point.

Level 2: Medium-Strong

 The first day hike on the Jiankou Great Wall deserves a medium-strong rating as as it includes a strong uphill hike. We never rush and include some breaks so this hike is suitable for everyone with an average to good physical condition.  The Huanghuacheng Great Wall hike  is fairly easy  so we give day 2 an easy-medium rating.

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