Switchback Great Wall, 2016/06/18
Photos from a long hike along a rough but pretty line of Great Wall in Beijing’s northwest—half recently repaired, the other half unrestored and wild.
Were you on this trip? How did you like it? We'd love to hear from you.
• Send us feedback • Review it on TripAdvisor • Share this page on Facebook
Just north of Beijing is the Badaling Great Wall, a very famous and very touristy section that is visited by millions every year. We drive right past Badaling on the way to the Switchback hike, which is just a few mountains further west and typically totally free of people.
So close, yet so different!
On this visit we had superb weather – a little hot, but we’re happy to be a little hot if the skies are as clear as this.
After a short climb uphill we were on the wall.
We've seen this flower a lot recently, and looked up the name: Low Lily.
Just the big blocks of the wall's foundation are left here.
Looking back down the trail.
Super hiker Dennis.
Continuing up along the wall after passing through a tower.
Framed in the archway.
More views of mountains.
Another look back along the wall.
We climbed on top of this tower. What goes up must also come down!
The wall got steeper as we continued.
Looking back again - the tower at the top left is the one we climbed on top of earlier.
On to the recently restored section, even higher than before.
A steep descent this time, and then we were finished.