Hiking photos – Nine-Eyes tower and Pizza Hike, 2012/05/26

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Our Nine-Eyes Tower hike is an excellent scenic Great Wall hike – quite short, but rather steep! On this visit, we'd added something special to our regular routine: freshly-made pizza after the hike, at a renovated courtyard house at Jiankou Village.

The first high point of the hike was the Nine-Eyes Tower, one of the highest towers in the Jiankou area. Built in 1543 AD, the tower is named for the nine windows in each side. At near 1,200m above sea level, we had 360° views of the surrounding hills and mountains, with the towers of nearby stretches of Great Wall visible on the hills in the distance.

From the tower we headed down a hill trail, and pushed through some thick vegetation as we walked south along a stretch of wall. Just before reaching a super-steep section of wall we jumped off, following a slippery hill trail back down to the village where we began the day.

The second high point of the hike: a feast of delicious Gung Ho! gourmet pizza, cooked fresh in the pizza oven at the Gung Ho! Hut in Jiankou Village.

Many thanks to the Gung Ho! gentlemen for putting on such a fine feed. Find out more about them (and their fantastic food) at www.gunghopizza.com.

The Hike

Swiss centaury, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

On the way up to the wall we spotted Swiss Centaury, a countryside herb with medicinal use.

local guide, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

We took a break before climbing the steepest section of wall on this hike. Our local guide is carrying the red ribbons.

spider, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

Hiking guide Jun spotted this little spider crawling along.

the view, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

We took a break at the Nine-Eyes Tower to enjoy the views and the breeze.

mountains, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

Views of mountains to the north.

old barracks, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

Below the Nine-Eyes Tower is an old barracks, used by the Ming Dynasty soldiers tasked with guarding this section of the wall.

The Pizza

Looks yummy!, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

Gung Ho John with Rocket Salad pizza, fresh from the oven!

the food and beer, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

The courtyard of the Gung Ho! Hut, the perfect place to enjoy a beer and a slice or five of pizza.

cheers, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

Cheers!

Fresh Pizza, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

The pizza oven.

courtyard, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

A nice place to sit and chat.

a good one, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

'That was a good one!'

the big welcome, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

Gung Ho Jade and John: 'How was the pizza?'

applause, Hiking photos Nine- eyes tower and Pizza Hike, May26, 2012

Hikers: 'Excellent!'