One-Day Simatai West to Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking Tour

In order to avoid highway traffic and the scorching mid-day sun, we like to leave at this early hour (around 7:00 AM - 7:30 AM). Depending on where your hotel is in the city, it will take 15-30 minutes to get to the highway (the highway entrance is at the north 3rd ring road; if you are staying close to the Forbidden City, for example, it will take around 20 minutes to arrive).

Once on the highway, there will be a restroom break (if needed) after about 20 minutes of driving. In total, the drive will take up to 2 hours without traffic, and closer to 2.5-3 if we run into a jam.

When we arrive, we will purchase your entry tickets and start our climb on a trail leading up to the wall. Simatai Great Wall is located along the ridges, so we will have to complete a 15-minute hike up some stairs before we reach it.

Great Wall Hiking Route Map from Simatai West to Jinshanling (click to enlarge)

Good to Know:

• Great Wall at Simatai West is also called the east gate entrance of the Jinshanling Great Wall. And tourists are not allowed to enter the west part of Simatai Great Wall due to the repaired of the Great Wall.
• The Great Wall at Simatai West is about 130 kilometers from downtown Beijing, right on the border of Hebei province and Beijing municipality, this part of Great Wall weaves along steep mountain ridges for 10.5 kilometers through a mountainous rural area with dense vegetation. First constructed in the early period of the Ming Dynasty during the late 14th century, the Simatai West - Jinshanling Great Wall was subsequently rebuilt to a much higher standard in the late 16th century after the Ming Dynasty decided to beef up its border defenses following a major military raid on Beijing by Mongol nomads in the mid 16th century.

Our comfortable vehicle

The East Gate of Jinshanling Great Wall (Great Wall at Simatai West)

To access the wall, it is necessary to hike up a long, winding staircase through the foliage.

We will mount the wall through an unrestored watchtower called Houchuankou Pass (后川口), the first among many towers that we will be seeing along the wall.It is at this first pass where we will climb up on to the Great Wall itself. From there onward, hikers will be rewarded with stunning panoramas and be able to see the Great Wall stretching out to the horizon. This section of the Great Wall is known for being built atop sharp ridges, and hikers will have a great chance to understand the impressive feat of engineering the Great Wall represents with each section we ascend and descend.

Houchuankou Pass - the first watch tower you'll be seeing

We can stop to take in the amazing view from one of the highest points we will reach that day. About halfway through the hike, at approximately 10:50, we will stop at a water and snack station for a 15-minute rest and a pick-me-up. If you feel that the hike is a little more difficult than you expected, we can certainly make more rest stops along the way, especially during hot summer weather. We will pass through several towers that offer shade; some even have a small temple on the top that you can check out if you have energy.

An old man on the Great Wall

Beautiful sunrise on the Jinshanling Great Wall

Hiking up the Great Wall

Ultimately arriving at Zhuanduokou Pass (砖垛口), the end of our hike, it is a three-story tower with large red, wooden windows facing north. This will be our last few moments on the Wall, so make sure you have taken enough pictures along the way! We will then get off the wall and walk down a short path to where we will have lunch.

Zhuanduokou Pass of the Great Wall at Jinshanling

A young girl dancing on the Great Wall

Villagers have set up a restaurant at the base of the entrance to Jinshanling, and offer traditional, tasty dishes made with fresh vegetables and meat. We'll enjoy Northern Chinese favorites including fried tomato with egg; roasted eggplant with potatoes and peppers; stir-fried bok choy, among other tasty dishes. Lunch fee is not included in the pricing.

A tasty lunch at a local farmer's house

Once we've been fed and watered, we'll walk a bit further down the road and meet our driver in the parking lot. Use the toilet, do some final post-hike stretches, and jump in the car for a nap or reflections on the day's hike at the Great Wall.

Depending on traffic heading into the city, and the distance from the expressway to your hotel, the drive home may range from 2-3 hours. We will be driving on the same expressway that we took on the way to Simatai West. Usually, though, this is an early enough time to avoid evening rush hour, so we shouldn't have to sit in much traffic. When you arrive, make sure you back up your camera or phone's memory card so you don't lose your photos of this spectacular section of the Great Wall.

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