The Great Wall

An excellent way to visit the Great Wall. The first part of the hike is on the undeveloped part of the Great Wall, so much more of an adventure than the touristy section where the hike ends, The start of the hike is from Xizhazi Village on the far side of the wall from Beijing and it ends in Mutianyu. I used John from www.hereisbeijing.com; phone 189 1171 0109 or 156 5231 828; email bjbdt@qq.com and he was great! He will do the driving, give instructions and lend you a phone for the rendezvous at the far end.

At 800 meters elevation I went right to get in a couple of extra towers, this includes a scramble that many people will not like due to the exposure. So just follow the trail straight up to the Zhengbeilou Tower, unless you like off-trail stuff.