12-day Great Wall Trek links Old Dragon’s Head, Jiaoshan, Dongjiakou, Huangyaguan, Jinshanling, Gubeikou, Jiankou, Mutianyu, Huanghuacheng. The program balances walking, transfers, meals and overnight arrangements across a longer section of the Wall.
12-day Great Wall Trek links Old Dragon’s Head, Jiaoshan, Dongjiakou, Huangyaguan, Jinshanling, Gubeikou, Jiankou, Mutianyu, Huanghuacheng. The program balances walking, transfers, meals and overnight arrangements across a longer section of the Wall.
Route illustration. Your guide will confirm the final trail, access and travel times before departure.
Day-by-day route details from our original tour program. Confirm the departure time, walking distance, meals, lodging and permitted campsite in your booking proposal; these may change with access and weather.
Upon arriving at Beijing International Airport, your driver will hold a sign of Great Wall Adventure Club to meet you at the Starbucks as soon as you walk out of the Baggage Claim on the Arrival Level. He'll treat you a cup of coffee to welcome you to Beijing! After that, he will take you to the hotel we have booked for you.
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express or similar
We will make the 4-hour drive the Old Dragon's Head and Shanhaiguan Pass, the First Pass Under Heaven. We will start our hike at Old Dragon's Head, also known as Laolongtou. We will enter the Shanhaiguan Great Wall Museum, where we will learn about the history and military strategy of this section of the wall and display military relics. After dinner, you will tour the Old Town of Shanhaiguan.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Shanghaiguan Hotel or similar
The Jiaoshan Peak is two miles away from Shanghaiguan. Though relatively diminutive in size, this is the first actual mountain the Great Wall passes heading west, and known as “the first mountain of the Great Wall.” Jiaoshan ancient wall provides you a sense of historical vicissitude. The wall appears more and more crumbled and deformed as you forge ahead. We will drive to Dongjiakou Great Wall and overnight there.
Walk: 9 kms
Hours: 4
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Shanghaiguan Hotel or similar
Our goal is to complete the Dongjiakou section of the Great Wall today. Dongjiakou is a strong fortress that guards Shanhaiguan Pass. The Wall here 8.9 km with the complete Wall stretching for over 3 km, a broken section of around 1.8 km, and the other sections being steep natural mountains without Wall. Apart from the castles, about 60% of Dongjiakou Great Wall's constructions including defense towers and beacon towers, are still intact.
Toward evening, we will drive to Huangyaguan to sleep in a hotel located at the foot of the Great Wall called Huangyaguan Hotel.
Walk: 10 kms
Hours: 4.5
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Huangyaguan Hotel or similar
We will make the short trip to the East Qing Tombs, which is among the finest, best-preserved, and most enormous of China's extant tomb complexes. Five emperors, four empresses, five imperial concubines, and one princess are arrayed based on the traditional concept of placing the most senior and most distinguished in the center.
After lunch, continue on to Dule Temple, one of China’s oldest surviving wooden Buddhist temples, renowned for its towering Guanyin statue and exceptional architectural preservation.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Huangyaguan Hotel or similar
Today we'll start with Peace Fort (Taipingzhai) that begins from Banlagang Mountain in the east and arriving at Guafu Tower (Widow Tower) in the west. There are six watchtowers, one battlement, and one shortcut leading to the wall.
Waking westward, we will get to the steepest segment of this section, the Huangya Sky Ladder. This long stairway seemingly leads to the sky, stretching to the top of the ridge. By climbing over the ladder, we will reach the primitive Great Wall built in the Northern Qi Dynasty, marking the end of the Huangyaguan section.
We will drive to Jinshanling to sleep tonight.
Walk: 8.5 kms
Hours: 4
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Huangyaguan Hotel or similar
Our hike will start from Simatai, and we will make our way west along the Wall into Jinshanling. The hikers are very thrilled about the grandeur of this part of the Wall. Wall enthusiasts have done. The Wall runs from a deteriorated wild state to the restored in the end to allow hikers to compare the differences between the two wall status.
Tonight, we will camp on the Great Wall in an ancient watchtower.
Walk: 8 kms
Hours: 3.5
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Camping on the Wall
Gubeikou is mostly Wild Wall. It was first built during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-557) and rebuilt in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). There are 172 watchtowers, 14 beacon towers, 16 passes, three water passes, three barbarians, and six fortresses along with it.
In 1933, the Chinese army fought against Japanese invasion troops at Gubeikou. In the four-month-long battles, over 5,000 Japanese soldiers were killed while 9,000 Chinese soldiers died. You can see that Gubeikou is not merely a relic, but it remained a battlefield in the modern world.
We will transfer to Jiankou to sleep tonight.
Walk: 10 kms
Hours: 4.5
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Miss-U-Much Hostel
Jiankou is the part where the mountain's shape looks like an arrow, with the collapsed ridge opening as its arrow nock. It is known for its ruggedness and wild beauty, and you will be in awe of the marvelous views it affords. As soon as we reach Jiankou, we will see a deserted watchtower that gives you a panoramic view of the entire valley. In the early morning, the picture is priceless with its morning fog. Here is the pinnacle of exotic Great Wall scenery.
Once we descend from the Great Wall, we will spend the night at a farmer's inn.
Walk: 9 kms
Hours: 4
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Laohe's Inn
From Jiankou, we will cross over onto Mutianyu, a section of the Wall that has been largely restored. Although it has gotten a face-lift, it avoids the army of tourists that plague Badaling.
The advantage of the Great Wall at Mutianyu is the beautiful scenery, the majestic Great Wall hidden among the pines and cypresses, which makes the perfect picture.
Mutianyu has also become famous for visiting foreign leaders and celebrities.
We will transfer to Huanghucheng to camp on the Great Wall for one more night.
Walk: 11 kms
Hours: 4
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Camping on the Wall
Hunaghuacheng is the only section that sits beside the lakes, so it is called Lakeside Great Wall. Since the lake breaks this section of the Great Wall into three segments naturally, its uniqueness might surprise you. The Huanghuacheng Reservoir lies here, shaped like a curved moon. The Wall's highest point is a broken watchtower, and from there, you will have a broad panoramic view of the whole valley. From this summit, the Wall dives steeply downwards into the valley.
We will drive back to Beijing in the late afternoon.
Walk: 11 kms
Hours: 5
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express or similar
You may choose one of our exciting city tours to any of Beijing's incredible sights and attractions if you can visit the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, the three attractions that you shouldn't miss. Or, you can take a cultural tour of old Beijing's Hutong. It's your choice. It will give you an overview of Beijing folk culture and daily life.
You'll sleep in Beijing for one more night. The next day, we will transfer you to the airport or train station for your next trip.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Express or similar
[BACK TO THE BEGINNING]
Share the relevant dates, group size and priorities. We will provide the current details in writing and identify anything that must be booked separately or may change with access, schedules or local conditions.
Walk tower to tower and understand how the Wall follows the natural defense line.
We distinguish gentler restored paths from demanding unrestored ridges before you choose.
Entrances, exits, seasonal conditions and transfer logistics are checked for your date.
Every departure is matched to the group’s dates, ages, interests, walking experience and preferred comfort level. Tell us what matters most—quiet trails, photography, history, a physical challenge, family time or a broader China itinerary—and we will explain the most practical options without hiding the tradeoffs.
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