Great Wall Hiking
Jinshanling Great Wall to Gubeikou Great Wall Hike
Hike 12 km from the restored Jinshanling Great Wall to the Wild Gubeikou Great Wall. The scenery is stunning, the hike is intense, the photo opportunities are endless... and local food is very good.
- Key Info
- Discounts & Inclusions
- Hiking Distance: 12km
- Hiking Duration: 1 day
- Hike level: 3 medium - strong
- Departure time: 8:30 am
- Back in Beijing: 7-8 pm
- Price: 650¥ /109$
Meeting/drop off point: Lama temple subway exit B (How to get there?)
Discounts:
Kids younger than 18 receive 10% discount.
Kids younger than 7 receive 50% discount.
Included in the price:
English speaking guide and transport,
Meals as described in the Itinerary
Entrance tickets, hiking sticks, water
The happy prospect of another expedition with China Hiking. We join the crowded highway heading out of Beijing. Many are leaving a crowded place in order to spend their free time among more crowds. But we are heading for solitude, to a wilder section of the wall where there are no vendors or garbage bins.
This solitude is remarkably easy to find. The watchtowers stand alone. There are two main seasons up here. The green season and the brown season. At this time of the year (the last part of the green foliage season in our case) wild apples and berries can be picked and enjoyed en route. The sun is shining and there is a pleasant breeze.
The wall never fails to impress as it snakes across the landscape. The shapes of distant hills layered into the horizon in various shades of grey. It is a photogenic place and I have never witnessed any hiker up here who has been disappointed with the views.
I have brought a bicycle with me. I like to think it’s the first one that has ever made it to this section of the wall. It’s not a real one, but a model. A gift from a friend who cannot be here because of work commitments, but who I hope will appreciate being remembered. This mini-bike looks remarkably at home nestled among the stones of the watch towers and crennelations of the wall borders. I can’t help thinking about the sentries and guards who watched over this place. They would have found these full sized metal and aluminum horses incredibly useful. It was to be hundreds years before other invaders brought bicycles to this land.
Fred and I rxchange comments of enthusiasm about the place. We never get bored of being here. As guide and customer respectively we feel privileged to be allowed to come back to the Great Wall.
It is our favourite wall in the world.
Heidi and Fred support the local people. A nearby farmhouse supplies dinner. The food is ferried up a steep path to the campsite on a huge wooden plank. Delicious. Later, this and the accompanying wine and beer, induce an exchange of songs from a variety of different countries. This takes place around the crackling campfire at this time of the year. During the brown season it is strictly forbidden as the risk of starting a bush fire is too great.
Banter joins the sparks on random trajectories when darkness descends. As the moon and stars appear the conversation topic switches briefly to constellations. Everyone is in a good mood. Our tents, mats and sleeping bags are in position to transport us to sleep.
. . .
After a sumptuous outdoor breakfast at the farmhouse, which includes noodle soup and current buns, we conclude the journey by hiking the remaining few kilometers to the minibus with our clothes smelling of campfire smoke and the desire to repeat this unforgettable experience at some point in the future. In my case hopefully before the green season is over!
Gerald Bagge
April was a month where we went to Gubeiko Great Wall quit a few times And every time it was completely different.
The second week of April is the week where everything is changing in the mountains around Beijing.
A few days later we were hiking on the same Gubeikou Great Wall…. This time the sun was shining and the hills were filled with white Apricot flowers.
Again a few days later the Apricot flowers where almost gone and and the strong wind give us rapid changes between sunshine and clouds during our hike from Gubeiko to Jinsanling.
Yesterday we went back again to Gubeiko Great wall and this time the sky was so clear we could see as far as the eye could reach. In this area of the Great wall that means that the landscape becomes so picturesque that it feels like you’re walking in a movie scene.
As you see this is times the same hike in the same month and yet every thing was so different each time we went there. Collors changed form yellow to white to green to blue espanolfarm.com…. a slow painter would have a hard time keeping track I guess 😉
Our guide John was a top bloke! Very knowledgeable and always to picking mulberries for the group along the way. Lunch was delicious and was taken in ...
Our guide John was a top bloke! Very knowledgeable and always to picking mulberries for the group along the way. Lunch was delicious and was taken in a farmer's house down a valley off the wall (about 45 minutes each way). Though funnily enough, this was actually the most tiring part of the hike.
Communication via email was quick and easy. Their price was the most competitive I could find online.
Overall, would recommend without hesitation!
I must commend you on a great guide - Manuel was very informative and attentive. All around a great trip - thanks!
I must commend you on a great guide - Manuel was very informative and attentive. All around a great trip - thanks!
Visited May 2016
On a eu de la pluie le matin et du ciel bleu l'après midi!
Le guide chinois parle très bien l'anglais, maitrise son...
On a eu de la pluie le matin et du ciel bleu l'après midi!
Le guide chinois parle très bien l'anglais, maitrise son sujet et bien d'autres, adapte la randonnée pour tous: photos, repos, pause, goûter, information historique!
Bon souvenir.
Merci a l'équipe!
Visited May 2016
Oh, and a great lunch where those of us on the hike got better acquainted.
It's no joke of a hike, so do bring real hiking shoes and comfortable clothes. They, thankfully, provided additional water.
Visited April 2016
John was a great guide, solicitous and attentive. At first we declined the walking poles, but we were so...
John was a great guide, solicitous and attentive. At first we declined the walking poles, but we were so glad John changed our minds as they were extremely useful on both ascent and descent, so much so we're going to buy our own once we're back home.
The highlights of this trip are the Wall itself, the stupendous views and the fantastic food at a small farm en route.
Tips - decent footwear is highly recommended. Some of our group were only wearing Converse type sneakers and they simply didn't have sufficient grip.
This hike was tougher than we expected. We're a reasonably fit couple, used to walks of this length and longer in the UK, but this one was at the higher end of our capacity. However, John includes plenty of breaks to allow recovery!
Take a decent camera - there are so many opportunities to take photos. Each time you think that's it, I've just captured the best shot of the Wall, then 5 minutes later, an even better view appears.
Final tip - GO!
We were lucky as the perfect weather and the fruit trees blooming made the landscape incredible.
Since the first contacts by mail, until the end of the tour (we made a private one), everything was conducted in a very professional way both by Fred, by the guide and the driver.
Compli...
We were lucky as the perfect weather and the fruit trees blooming made the landscape incredible.
Since the first contacts by mail, until the end of the tour (we made a private one), everything was conducted in a very professional way both by Fred, by the guide and the driver.
Compliments, excellent !
Visited April 2016
I took the "Jinshanling Great Wall to Gubeikou Great Wall 1day" hike and can completely recommend it!
Thanks to Heidi for such an experience. The hike takes you through sparsely visited (yet even in Summer) parts of the Great Wall. You get to enjoy a incomparable view and a beautiful landscape. If y...
I took the "Jinshanling Great Wall to Gubeikou Great Wall 1day" hike and can completely recommend it!
Thanks to Heidi for such an experience. The hike takes you through sparsely visited (yet even in Summer) parts of the Great Wall. You get to enjoy a incomparable view and a beautiful landscape. If you have only 30min to spare for the great wall, just go with the regular tour to Badaling, there are literally hundreds of tours to the Wall, but nothing like this one. Now, be prepared to hike and enjoy, it is not the regular 20min up-with-the-gondel tour, you are going to visit a beautiful part of the wall. Lunch is provided in a local farm house, it is most convivial.
Thank you Heidi and Fred, I am most fond of this memory of a great monument of humanity.
Visited September 2015
This part of the wall was both restored at the start and old sections as you go alon...
This part of the wall was both restored at the start and old sections as you go along, awesome views throughout. Check out their FB page for actual photos of trips, very handy.
We went in early February, it was cold but ended up taking most layers off once we got going
Visited February 2016
The views from all of the hike were spectacular. The day we went was very clear and we could see the wall snaking across the mountains a long way. The views also reveled stunning peaks in all directions.
The lunch was served at a very small hotel in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere. The food was great, and it gave a new window to life in China.
Finally, going January had some snow on the all and more snow in the valleys (the path was still very navigable). This made the experience even better, as it was a cool way to go on the hike. John provided crampons to all the hikers for the slicker sections of the trail.
Overall, great experience and I would recommend it to anyone. Thank you to John and the team for provided this for us.
Visited January 2016
I would go back and do exactly the same walk it was so great but hopefully ...
I would go back and do exactly the same walk it was so great but hopefully next time we can make it an overnighter.
Neither words not photos can really do justice to this amazing place. We walked Jinshanling to Gubeikou seeing only six other walkers during the day and that was off the wall as we returned from our simple but delicious farmer's lunch.
This walk was what I had been most looking forward to and it didn't disappoint.
Visited December 201
Visited October 2014 source: TripAdvisor
Visited June 2014 source: tripadvisor
Visited June 2014 source: tripadvisor
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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 Jinshanling Great Wall to Gubeikou Great Wall Hike (1day)
Prices are per person and include:
Pick up and drop of by private bus at your hotel ( Please let us know the pick up address)
English speaking guide
Entrance tickets
Lunch and water
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 | 1100¥ | 990¥ | 167$ | 150$ |
5 | 950¥ | 855¥ | 144$ | 130$ |
6 | 900¥ | 810¥ | 136$ | 123$ |
7 | 800¥ | 720¥ | 121$ | 109$ |
8 | 750¥ | 675¥ | 114$ | 102$ |
9 | 700¥ | 630¥ | 106$ | 96$ |
10 | 650¥ | 585¥ | 99$ | 89$ |
15+ | Please contact us for larger group prices. |
Short Itinerary
08:00 am Gather at meeting point
08:30 am Departure with private van
10:30 pm Start hiking
12:00 pm Lunch at a local farmhouse
02:00 pm Continue hiking
05:00 pm End hiking
07:00 pm Arrive in Beijing
Highlights
Wild & restored Great Wall
Included meals
Authentic farmhouse lunch
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Detailed Itinerary
From our meeting point (Lama temple subway station exit B) our van will head northeast for about 2 hours to the border of Beijing and the Hebei province.
Jinshanling Great Wall
The hike starts with a climb of the infamous staircases of the Jinshanling Great Wall. The Jinshanling section has a total length of 10km with intact watchtowers almost every 100 meters. As we walk south, the Jinshanling Great Wall becomes less renovated, tourists become sparse and new views unfold. Just before we reach the restricted military zone we take a detour of the wall and climb up a hilltop where we have a fantastic 360 degrees view of the Great Wall winding on the mountain ridges.
Jinshanling Great Wall trek during fall
We head down a small dirt trail that leads to a local farmer who will serve us an excellent lunch. With the renewed strength, we follow a 5km trail that curls alongside the wall, over the hills, through a small forest and pops out of the bush at the General tower of the Gubeikou Great Wall. Here we have reached the highest point of the day and another magical place for pictures.
Gubeikou Great Wall
The Winding Dragon section and Crouching Tiger section of Gubeikou Great Wall are stretched out in front of you. We hike the Gubeikou Great Wall till the 5th watchtower and take a small dirt trail down the ridge, through the bush till we reach a small lake where our driver waits for us. By 7pm we will be back at our meeting point in Beijing.
Jinshanling to Gubeikou Great Wall hike
Level 2: Medium-Strong
We give Jinshanling to Gubeikou Great Wall hike a level 2 rating because it is quite a long hike. However there are no steep climbs which makes it enjoyable for everybody with an average physical condition. The fact that we take a lunch break after 1/3rd of the hike helps as well. One important factor for this trip is also the season. Outside the summer this can be rated as “easy-medium”. During hot summer days we would rate the Jinshanling to Gubeikou hike “medium-strong” as there is very little shade on the trail.
Planning a trip ahead or want a private tour?
Private tour prices for Jinshanling Great Wall to Gubeikou Great Wall Hike (1day)
Prices are per person and include:
Pick up and drop of by private bus at your hotel ( Please let us know the pick up address)
English speaking guide
Entrance tickets
Lunch and water
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 | 1100¥ | 990¥ | 167$ | 150$ |
5 | 950¥ | 855¥ | 144$ | 130$ |
6 | 900¥ | 810¥ | 136$ | 123$ |
7 | 800¥ | 720¥ | 121$ | 109$ |
8 | 750¥ | 675¥ | 114$ | 102$ |
9 | 700¥ | 630¥ | 106$ | 96$ |
10 | 650¥ | 585¥ | 99$ | 89$ |
15+ | Please contact us for larger group prices. |
Please fill out the details in the form below to submit your request for a private or open tour.