8 days great wall hiking tour

includes: huangya guan, simatai, jinshanling, mutianyu, badaling & beijing

d1 upon arrival in beijing, you are met by our tour guide and transferred to your hotel.

d2 drive to huangyaguan and check in huanyaguan hotel at the foot of the wall. visit the great wall museum.

d3 enjoy a full day hike along the great wall at huangya pass (5 hours), which acquired its name from the yellow cliffs into which it was built. built across the ju river in jixian county, the pass and its round guardhouse, phoenix tower, have an imposing look. the most unique feature here is the street of the eight diagrams, an architectural wonder of the ming dynasty lying just below the pass. a labyrinth meant to confuse and entrap invading armies, this fortification design is based on the ancient trigrams of the book of changes.

d4 check out your hotel after breakfast, then drive to the great wall at simatai. here the wall travels along the ridges of high mountains and, at certain points, along cliffs formed by huge rocks, where builders were able to create an impregnable wall by merely piling up a few layers of bricks. hike from simatai to jinshanling (approximately 4 hours), and then check in the jinshanling hotel. the jinshanling section is virtually a museum of the architectural styles of ming-era towers. as many as 67 are found within a distance of only 10 km. the towers are built in a surprising variety of shapes, the largest of which is the impressive store house tower, so named because of the storehouse on its southern terrace. this tower was used as a garrison headquarters and is protected by special defensive barriers and an extra wall 60 meters downhill.

d5 check out your hotel after breakfast, then drive to the great wall at mutianyu and embark on another full-day hike (approximately 5 hours). the mutianyu section of the great wall is known for its beautiful surroundings - dense woods and rich pastures changing colors with the seasons of the year. it winds its way over 1000 meters to the crest of a mountain before turning sharply and dipping downhill, forming a triangle known as the ox-horn wall, two unique features of this section are the double battlements and branch walls found throughout the area. drive to changping and check into the hotel in the evening.

d6 check out of your hotel after breakfast, then drive to the great wall at badaling. enjoy a walk along the most frequently visited portion of the great wall (approximately 4 hours). the wall here averages 7.8 meters in height and has a width of 5.7 meters at the top and 6.5 meters at the base. the walkway on top is 4.5 meters wide, making it possible for five horses or ten soldiers to march abreast. with large, heavily fortified towers found along the wall every 300 to 500 meters, badaling is known for its imposing magnitude. after your hike, you will drive back to beijing and check into the hotel.

d7 have a day free to explore on your own, or arrange an optional tour to some of the local sightseeing attractions. in the evening enjoy a special farewell peking duck dinner.

d8 after breakfast, transfer to the airport for continuation of your journey.