Great Wall of China Hiking Tour. Hike the Great Wall from the sea to the mountains. A China tour for hikers. Join us for this hiking adventure along the Great Wall of China

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The Mutianyu Great Wall (public domain photograph)
5 Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China.

NEW TRIP!
October 14-22, 2009
Plan your arrival in Beijing for October 13
Plan your departure from Beijing for October 23

Printable version of itinerary

Join us on this hiking adventure on the Great Wall of China. You'll experience the finest, less trammeled sections of this world monument on foot. From Laolongtou where the wall plunges into the Bohai Sea to the wilder wall at Dongjiakou to the magnificent stretches of the Simatai and Jinshanling walls this journey is designed with the hiker in mind!

Photograph courtesy of J.Jiang
5 Temple of Heaven, Beijing.

Day 1
Overnight in Beijing
Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
Enjoy a guided tour of the principal monuments of Beijing including Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. Enjoy a welcome dinner this evening.

Day 2
Overnight in Qinhuangdao
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Travel east from Beijing to the Bohai Sea at the city of Qinhuangdao. Here, the Great Wall of China plunges into the sea at Laolongtou ("Old Dragon's Head"). Walk along the trace of the wall to the walled fortress of Shan Hai Guan ("First Pass Under Heaven") where we'll visit the Great Wall museum. Travel by vehicle back to your hotel near the Bohai Sea.

Photograph courtesy of J.Jiang
5 The Great Wall enters the Bohai Sea at Laolongtou.

Day 3
Overnight in Qinhuangdao
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Hike along the Great Wall as it makes its first ascent into the mountains at Jiao Shan ("Horn Mountain"). Enjoy views over the fortress of Shan Hai Guan and out to the Bohai Sea. If you desire a full-day hike, continue from the peak of Jiao Shan following the wall and sometimes a mountain trail to reach the pass of Sandaoguan. Return to Qinhuangdao for the evening.

Dongjiakou Great Wall. Photo courtesy of J. Jiang
5 Dongjiakou section of the Great Wall.

Chengzhiyu tower photograph courtesy of J. Jiang.

5 Tower at Chengzhiyu.

Day 4
Overnight in Qinhuangdao
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Travel by vehicle north from Qinhuangdao to the small village of Dongjiakou where you can explore the remains of an old fortress as well as the Cihou Tower, an unusual roofless watchtower with two dozen observation portals. The villagers of Dongjiakou are descendants of the builders of this section of the wall and today work to protect it. Hike along the Dongjiakou wall to Chengzhiyu village. The Dongjiakou Great Wall (also known as the Jizhen Wall), punctuated by forty-five towers and three fortresses, winds for five miles through a landscape of gentle, forest-cloaked mountains. Return to Qinhuangdao for the evening.

Photograph courtesy of J.Jiang
5 The Great Wall at Huangyaguan.

Day 5
Overnight in Huangyaguan
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
This morning, travel by vehicle to the Eastern Qing Tombs (Qing Dongling), perhaps more splendid than the more famous Ming Tombs. There are fifteen tombs at the site in which are buried five emperors and fifteen empresses including the first Qing Emperor and the Dowager Empress Cixi. Following the visit, a half hour journey by vehicle brings you to the Huangyaguan ("Yellow Crag Pass"). On either side of the pass, the Great Wall winds through the dramatic landscape of the Yanshan Mountains. Spend the afternoon exploring Tapingzhai section of the wall to the east of the pass or wander through the labyrinth of Huangyaguan fortress designed to confound would be attackers.

Day 6
Overnight in Simatai area
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Ascend the steps of the "Heaven's Ladder" to gain a ridgetop above Huangyaguan. Follow the wall as it undulates across the mountains before gradually descending into a valley. From here, a vehicle will transport you north to the Simatai-Jinshanling Great Wall which is for hikers perhaps the most magnificent part of the Great Wall. Overnight in simple accommodations near the Simatai village.

Jinshanling-Simatai Great Wall photograph courtesy of J. Jiang
5 A portion of the Simatai-Jinshanling Great Wall.

Day 7
Overnight in Jinshanling
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Hike westward today along the magnificent stretch of the Simatai-Jinshanling Great Wall. This section is known for its variety of walls and towers as well as its generally unspoiled character. It's one of the least visited and best preserved parts of the Great Wall. Complete the day's hike at the Jinshanling village where simple accommodations await at the foot of the Great Wall.

Day 8
Overnight in Yunfoshan
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
Continue hiking westward from Jinshanling along the wall. The undulations of the wall become gentler as you make your way to the General Tower near the town of Gubeikou where the day's hiking concludes. Travel by vehicle to your overnight accommodations at Yunfoshan.

Day 9
Overnight at Beijing
Breakfast, lunch & dinner included
From Yunfoshan, travel by vehicle to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall dominated by the three-towered fortification of Zhengguantai. Hike along the length of the restored section of this wall before descending a trail into a valley where the hike ends. There may also be an opportunity this day to hike to a vantage point where you can enjoy a view of the unreconstructed and crumbling Jiankou Great Wall as it traverses perhaps the most dramatic and precipitous mountain terrain in the course of the wall. Return to Beijing in the afternoon and enjoy a farewell dinner featuring Beijing imperial cuisine to celebrate your Great Wall adventure!

Other Details about this Trip

Trip Dates: October 14-22, 2009
Price: $3,895
Single Room for entire trip: $675. Single accommodations are subject to availability and may be limited.
Meeting Point: Beijing, China
Departure Point: Beijing, China
Accommodations: Seven nights in hotels with private bath. Three nights in simple village accommodations where bath facilities may be shared. Ten breakfasts, nine lunches, and nine dinners are included. Note: Your accommodations on the evening of October 13 are included.

Printable version of itinerary

Other Resources

For a discussion of the challenges facing the Great Wall, read "The Great Wall of China Is Under Siege" by Brook Larmer in the August 2008 issue of Smithsonian Magazine.
Get ready for your China trip by studying this primer on Chinese etiquette. Read "Etiquette 101: China" in the October 2008 issue of Conde Nast Traveler magazine beginning on page 116.

Airfares to Beijing from the U.S. in the October window are attractively priced! Check out current airfares now at Kayak.com. (The airport code for Beijing is PEK. To join up with this trip, you need to depart the U.S. no later than October 12, 2009. Plan your return to the U.S. for October 23, 2009 at the earliest. You will most likely not be able to check fares for these dates until about 330 days before departure.)

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