Mini Group: Simatai West to Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour

Overview

Available languages

English

8 hours

Mobile ticket

This moderately challenging, 3-hour hike offers breathtaking views of the Great Wall from Simatai West to Jinshanling, snaking along the ridge of the mountains, taking you through crumbling, ancient watch towers along the way. Hiking along this thoughtfully restored section of the Great Wall will transport you back in time to the heyday of imperial China and allow you to get a sense of what it must have felt like to be a Ming Dynasty soldier sent to the northern frontier of the Chinese empire to protect the imperial capital, Beijing, against nomadic invaders. Jinshanling is also famous for being one of the most photogenic sections of the Great Wall and is a fantastic place to take photos.

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby

Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries

Not recommended for pregnant travelers

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health

Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness

Minimum number of participants required for the tour to run is 2. Tour could be canceled in case of minimum number of participants not met. You will get a full refund.

Not recommended for child aged 6 and under

Hotel pickup and drop-off services are available within the 4th Ring Zone of Beijing City.

You will receive details about tour guide and exact pickup time in your voucher the day before. And the tour guide will also call you via hotel or leave a message for you about pickup time the night before tour.

If your booking has more than 6 people, all of you will be upgraded to a private tour group without other participants.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What To Expect

Time: 10:00-13:00 This moderately challenging hike offers breathtaking views of the Great Wall from Simatai West to Jinshanling, snaking along the ridge of the mountains, taking you through crumbling, ancient watch towers along the way. Upon finishing the stairs you will arrive at the Houchuankou Pass, the first among many towers that you will see along the wall. From there, you will be rewarded with stunning panoramic view and even be able to see the Great Wall stretching out to the horizon. This section of the Great Wall is known for being built a top sharp ridge. Hiking along this thoughtfully restored section of the Great Wall will transport you back in time to the heyday of imperial China period and allow you to get a sense of what it must have felt like to be a Ming Dynasty soldier sent to the northern frontier of the Chinese empire to protect the imperial capital, Beijing, against nomadic invaders. Along the way, snacks and water are provided for you to recharge. You will have a late lunch at the Zhuanduokou Pass. After this, you will be transferred back to your hotel at approximately 5:00pm to end this tour.

What‘s Included

Hotel pickup and drop off services.

Bottled water

Entrance fee to the Great Wall at Jinshanling.

English-speaking professional tour guide service

Gratuities

Lunch

Cable cars at the Great Wall

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Meeting points

Beijing

Beijing China

End points

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Options

Small Group (Maximum 10 PAX)

Pickup included

Reviews

5.00

17 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Great experience!!
Cecilia N,,Aug 25, 2024
- Review from Viator
5.00
This tour was amazing! The trip took 2 hours to get there, we walked on the wall for about 3 hours. These sections of the Great Wall are amazing, some parts are steep. These sections aren’t crowded and we had a lot of fun during the walk. Our guide Nancy was very kind, she speaks very good English and told us a lot of interesting things about the wall. Highly recommended!!
A dream come true
maku551,,Nov 13, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
The tour was absolutely fantastic. Our tour guide Jerry was great. Very knowledgeable about the sights we were seeing and happy to take pictures of our group. He made sure we have enough of water, gave us sweet snacks and took a break whenever we needed one. Strongly recommend tours with him. Date of tour: 11/11/2019
All Good Bro!
TheRandomKiwi,,Oct 31, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
What an amazing day hiking the Great Wall. This was everything I imagined, and so much more. Our tour guide Bob Chen was excellent, let us take out time, took pictures for us, and gave all the information we needed to make it a really special day! Would recommend to anyone planning to visit China.
Wonderful experience
sofia kathmann,,Sep 29, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
I signed up for this mini-tour and ended up as the only guest on that day, which means I had Bob, my amazing guide all to myself. He told me lots of interesting facts about the parts of the wall we passed on our hike. Even more, he also gave me insight on some fascinating aspects about Chinese culture I probably wouldn't have known otherwise! Back in Beijing, Bob even pointed out some other sights nearby and showed me the way there, which he really didn't have to. The Simatai and Jinshanling Sections of the wall are absolutely breathtaking and there were almost no other tourists there. Thanks to Bob secretly being a basically professional photographer as well I have some beautiful pictures to take home with me on top of my memories. Regarding the pick-up and drop-off a very kind exception was made for me. Since I was the only guest, I was picked up at my hotel lobby instead of having to spend 40 minutes in the subway to get to the meeting point. Thank you so much for this amazing tour, it was wonderful!
Breathtaking and personal
tbayeng,,Sep 3, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
I signed up with my 2 teenagers for this mini-tour and we ended up with only one other guest on our excursion. The day was perfect and the location in the mountains and a good drive away from Beijing meant there were very few other tourists on the wall. Our guide was attentive and informative while letting us explore on our own and take our time for photos. He also helped us take a few fancy shots with some trick photography. I couldn't have asked for a better day.
Breathtaking, perfect.
NPulkkis,,Aug 18, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Great hike, our wonderful guide Bob was very professional. Nearly no other tourists, breathtaking views. Good challenge, some parts of the wall are not easy to hike, slippery and steep.
Amazing history and beauty!
John from Saskatoon,,Aug 13, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
my two friends and I turned this tour into a private tour and we’re not disappointed. The guide, Dewitt, was friendly and knowledgeable, and he made the tour go very smoothly. The climb up to the wall was pretty intense; there were a lot of steps! However the view from the top was totally worth it. We were really thankful that we took this particular section of the wall because it was not very busy, and it had a great authentic, rustic feeling to it. The history is amazing here, and the sites are breathtaking. The prices were also very reasonable, and we would definitely go with this company again. Highly recommend!
Once-in-a-lifetime Experience!
50breab,,May 28, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
What an adventure! From start to finish our experience was seamless. Communication about meeting time and hotel pickup was spot on. We were greeted in the morning by our INCREDIBLE guide Colin, who made us feel comfortable throughout the day. Our car drove us to the Wall entrance, where we were greeted unexpectedly by a heavy rain! Our driver was so kind and let us borrow his umbrellas, and Colin did not hesitate to begin our journey. We started out with a 30 minute hike to the wall, whichever really warmed us up and prepared us for the hike. After reaching the wall we were greeted by breathtaking views and a complete sense of awe. Again, Colin exceeded all expectations and led us through some tough spots made slippery by the rain. We felt safe and well taken care of throughout the experience - Colin even helped us take photos along the way! After we completed our hike we were transferred to a nearby restaurant where Colin took our dietary preferences and placed an order. The food arrived and it was spot-on to what we liked! The restaurant was warm and even offered a hair dryer for my hair. After our plentiful lunch we got back in our car and headed back to Beijing where we were dropped at our hotel. I couldn’t be more grateful to Colin for all of his guidance, knowledge of the history of the Great Wall and dynasties of China, and his warm personality and kindness. Thank you Colin!!
Better be fit, Hot work in Spring/Summer and spectacular views
RestlessMostPlaces,,May 27, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We had "sponge Bob" Chen as our guide on this spectacular walk and excellent he was! There is a general saying "no pain, no gain" and this covers this tour, for your exertions you get spectacular views, but be in no doubt the description of this tour as moderately difficult might only apply to an Olympian!, if you are 61 and overweight like me it is a quite a difficult walk, the heat and exertion combine to present some risks. But go prepared, you will probably need more than the 2 bottles of water required, a back pack and poles are a good idea also, take some sports drinks or rehydration salts just in case, again if you take your time you won't need them. Finally, I would think carefully about doing this hike if the conditions are wet or it has just stopped raining, this is a challenging up and down walk with very steep steps of varying heights, the steep being an angle of 68 degrees. Well worth the effort but go prepared, all I need to do now is lose about 20kg/44lb before ever going back.
Great hiking experience
Hilary B,,Apr 28, 2019
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
China highlights provide a great service, the mini van arrived on time, the guide and driver were great and only 5 of us on this walk. It’s definitely a challenging walk, lots of stairs and uneven surfaces, but doable, and our guide Colin was fantastic, very solicitous making sure we were all safe and comfortable at all stages of the walk. He was informative enough and happy to answer questions. He was great fun too,while remaining professional. One section of the walk was super dangerous as the stairs were the steepest I’ve ever seen, so he offered us an alternative side walk for that bit which was a great idea. The meal after the walk was very good. All in all a really good day on the Great Wall with good company and Colin’s expert guidance. The driver maintained his patience with the terrible Beijing traffic jams we encountered on our return.