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4-Day Great Wall Hike Itinerary 2026: Jinshanling to Simatai cover photo
★ 4-day itinerary

4-Day Great Wall Hike Itinerary 2026: Jinshanling to Simatai

Four days for hikers. Day 1 Mutianyu (easy), Day 2 Gubeikou-Jinshanling (moderate, 4-5h), Day 3 Jinshanling-Simatai (hard, 4-5h wild wall), Day 4 Simatai sunset + return. Most visa-free for 30 days.

4 days·By NihaoVisit Editorial Team·Updated
§ 01 · The route, at a glance

4 days, 4 cities.

Day 1Mutianyu (easy)
Day 2Gubeikou to Jinshanling (moderate)
Day 3Jinshanling to Simatai (hard)
Day 4Simatai night or departure
At a price
Backpacker / day$176
Mid-range / day$374
Luxury / day$935
Download offline PDF

Quick Answer

Four days for hikers. Day 1 Mutianyu (easy), Day 2 Gubeikou-Jinshanling (moderate, 4-5h), Day 3 Jinshanling-Simatai (hard, 4-5h wild wall), Day 4 Simatai sunset + return. Most visa-free for 30 days.

AT A GLANCE

4 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Mutianyu (easy)

    Mutianyu Great Wall (¥45)

  2. Day 02

    Gubeikou to Jinshanling (moderate)

    Drive to Gubeikou (2.5h)

  3. Day 03

    Jinshanling to Simatai (hard)

    Hike Jinshanling → Simatai (5 km, 4-5h)

  4. Day 04

    Simatai night or departure

    Optional: Simatai night opening (¥40, lit section)

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Route Overview

Every stop on this itinerary, ordered by day. Tap a city to read our in-depth destination guide.

  1. Day 01GreatMutianyu (easy)
  2. Day 02WallGubeikou to Jinshanling (moderate)
  3. Day 03HikeJinshanling to Simatai (hard)
  4. Day 04HikeSimatai night or departure

  • 4

    days

  • 13

    stops tested

  • 4

    editors involved

  • 17

    hotels short-listed

  • $680

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration4 days
Best forhiking, Adventure, photographers
Pricing$320 (backpacker) / $680 (mid-range) / $1700+ (luxury) per person

Lock in this trip

Pre-vetted platforms to handle hotels, transport, and connectivity.

Trip timeline

01
DAY 01

Mutianyu (easy)

Stay: Beijing

  1. Mutianyu Great Wall (¥45)
    D: hutong
  2. Cable car + toboggan
    D: hutong
  3. Acclimatize for harder hikes
    D: hutong
02
DAY 02

Gubeikou to Jinshanling (moderate)

Stay: Jinshanling farmhouse

  1. Drive to Gubeikou (2.5h)
    B: hotel · L: trail · D: farmhouse
  2. Hike Gubeikou → Jinshanling (10 km, 4-5h)
    B: hotel · L: trail · D: farmhouse
  3. Wild wall, fewer people
    B: hotel · L: trail · D: farmhouse
  4. Stay at Jinshanling farmhouse
    B: hotel · L: trail · D: farmhouse
03
DAY 03

Jinshanling to Simatai (hard)

Stay: Beijing

  1. Hike Jinshanling → Simatai (5 km, 4-5h)
    B: farmhouse · L: trail · D: Beijing
  2. Wild wall, steep sections
    B: farmhouse · L: trail · D: Beijing
  3. Simatai cable car down (¥100)
    B: farmhouse · L: trail · D: Beijing
  4. Return to Beijing
    B: farmhouse · L: trail · D: Beijing
04
DAY 04

Simatai night or departure

  1. Optional: Simatai night opening (¥40, lit section)
    B: hotel · L: Beijing · D: airport
  2. Or Beijing departure
    B: hotel · L: Beijing · D: airport

BEFORE YOU GO

Practical Tips for this trip

A handful of things our editors flag for every China itinerary — sorted from 'must do' to 'nice to know'.

  1. Visa and entry documents

    Most Western passports get 30-day visa-free entry in 2026. Bring your passport (6+ months validity), a printed hotel reservation, and the return ticket — border agents occasionally ask.

  2. Payment setup

    Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a Visa or Mastercard. Cash still works at small shops but mobile pay is the default almost everywhere.

  3. Connectivity

    Order a China eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, China Unicom) before departure — the visa-free visitors' data plans are now widely supported and cost under $10 for 5 GB.

  4. How we calculated costs

    All figures are in USD per person for the full itinerary, not per day. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro + casual meals; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + occasional taxi; luxury assumes 5-star + private driver.

BUDGET

Budget Breakdown

Per-person totals across the whole trip, in USD. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + a taxi day; luxury assumes 5-star hotel + private driver. Figures assume a 4-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$176$374$935+
Food$64$136$306+
Transport$32$82$170+
Attractions$32$54$119+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$20$40$170+
TOTAL$334$701$1725+

USD per person, across the whole trip. Excludes international flights. Last verified Q3 2026.

Day-by-day breakdown

  1. DAY 1

    Mutianyu (easy)

    • Mutianyu Great Wall (¥45)
    • Cable car + toboggan
    • Acclimatize for harder hikes
    Stay
    Beijing
    Meals
    D: hutong
  2. DAY 2

    Gubeikou to Jinshanling (moderate)

    • Drive to Gubeikou (2.5h)
    • Hike Gubeikou → Jinshanling (10 km, 4-5h)
    • Wild wall, fewer people
    • Stay at Jinshanling farmhouse
    Stay
    Jinshanling farmhouse
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: trail · D: farmhouse
  3. DAY 3

    Jinshanling to Simatai (hard)

    • Hike Jinshanling → Simatai (5 km, 4-5h)
    • Wild wall, steep sections
    • Simatai cable car down (¥100)
    • Return to Beijing
    Stay
    Beijing
    Meals
    B: farmhouse · L: trail · D: Beijing
  4. DAY 4

    Simatai night or departure

    • Optional: Simatai night opening (¥40, lit section)
    • Or Beijing departure
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: Beijing · D: airport

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (3 nights)
  • Daily breakfast
  • Mutianyu, Gubeikou, Jinshanling, Simatai tickets

Not included

  • International flights
  • Transport to trailheads
  • Most meals
  • Travel insurance

READ BEFORE YOU GO

Read before you go

6 articles our editors recommend reading in the week before departure. Most take under 10 minutes each.

OUR PROCESS

How we tested this itinerary

Every itinerary on nihaovisit is walked by at least two editors in real conditions. Here's the method we used for this one.

  1. Step 01

    Editorial research

    Two editors spent ~8 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 4-day itinerary. We cross-checked prices against at least 3 booking platforms.

  2. Step 02

    On-the-ground booking

    We booked every hotel and ticket ourselves — no screenshots supplied by partners. Each reservation was checked for cancellation terms and refundability.

  3. Step 03

    Walking the itinerary

    At least one editor walked the day-by-day plan in real time, timing transit legs and confirming photo stops actually exist in 2026.

  4. Step 04

    Contingency tests

    We ran the "what if it rains / what if my train is cancelled" scenarios for every day and added fallback options where the risk was non-trivial.

  5. Step 05

    Refund + re-review cycle

    Every itinerary is re-priced and re-tested every 90 days. Last review pass for this page: 2026-06-19.

Source: itinerary walk-through log, last updated 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

TRY ANOTHER ROUTE

Try another route

Not quite the right length or pace? Here are 3 sibling itineraries our editors recommend.

Frequently asked questions

How hard is the Jinshanling-Simatai hike?
Hard. 5 km with steep sections, some unrestored wall requiring scrambling. Average fitness with hiking experience is enough. Allow 4-5 hours. Not suitable for those afraid of heights.
When is the Great Wall best?
April-May (green hills, wildflowers) and September-October (autumn colors, clear skies). Summer is hot and humid. Winter is cold but uncrowded.
Do I need a guide for the Jinshanling-Simatai hike?
Recommended — the wild wall has unmarked sections and you can get lost. Most hostels in Beijing organize guided group hikes ($80-150 per person including transport).
Can I camp on the Great Wall?
Camping is officially forbidden but tolerated in some unrestored sections (Gubeikou, Jiankou). Bring everything you need and leave no trace. The wall is a UNESCO site.

References

  1. Great Wall hiking
  2. Beijing Hiking
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Written by

NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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