5 Hiking Routes of Mutianyu Great Wall

If you are planning your trip, you can refer to our complete Mutianyu Great Wall Hiking Routes. Mix and match different trails to create your exclusive itinerary based on your physical strength and travel time.

Taking the shuttle bus up the mountain, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom at the drop-off point.

Route 1: The uphill path passes the entrance of the Slide (Shi Bi De). Walk another 30 meters, turn right to reach the ticket checkpoint. The trail leads to Tower No. 6 — 840 meters, 1,000 steps. Head east to explore Towers 1–5, then return the same way and walk down the mountain. Suitable for light hiking enthusiasts.

Route 2: Take the cable car up and down near the Shi Bi De Slide, or take the slide down. Suitable for a quick visit — saves the most energy and takes the shortest time.

Route 3: Take the cable car from near Yisonglou (Wing Pine Pavilion) directly to Tower No. 14. The terrain is high, the view is wide, and the scenery is beautiful. Short time, energy-saving.

Route 4: Take the middle trail up to Tower No. 9, then walk down from Tower No. 6, or take the cable car / slide down. No backtracking — you get to experience several modes of transport. Not very tiring on the legs.

Route 5: Take the middle trail up to Tower No. 12, then head west to explore Towers 13–20, then return to Tower No. 14. This requires considerable physical effort and takes 2–3 hours. At that point, you can choose to walk down the trail or take the cable car. For challengers: continue east to Tower No. 1, then turn back and descend from Tower No. 6. This requires very high physical effort and takes 4–5 hours in total. The section between Towers 19 and 20 is extremely steep — about 70–80 degrees.

These five routes can be split and combined as you like.