Walking the Great Wall

9 days
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4.7/5 Excellent
100+ reviews  
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Small Group Tour
Stepping out across the peaceful semi-ruin of a section of the Great Wall is like walking in the footsteps of the past. Far from the tourist crowds we are able to get a great sense of the scale and majesty of this remarkable piece of engineering without rushing through in a big group. We trek along various contrasting sections of the wall, both dilapidated an...
$2,835
From$2,100
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Overview

Trip type
Small Group Tour
Lodging level
Standard - 3 star
Physical level
Moderate
Trip pace
Balanced schedule

Highlights

    • Trek alongside mountains on lesser-visited parts of the wall
    • Experience rural life first hand in little villages
    • Guided tour or Beijing's 'hutongs', Tiananmen Square & the Forbidden City
    • Possibility to add Terracotta Warrior extension

What's this trip about?

    Stepping out across the peaceful semi-ruin of a section of the Great Wall is like walking in the footsteps of the past. Far from the tourist crowds we are able to get a great sense of the scale and majesty of this remarkable piece of engineering without rushing through in a big group. We trek along various contrasting sections of the wall, both dilapidated and rebuilt stretches. The old portions have a romantic feel, but the new ones may look odd to people who are used to seeing their ancient monuments in a poor state, though since the wall was constructed over a 2000 year period, the new sections are just a continuation of that process. We will get closer to day-to-day life in rural China before returning to Beijing, a city steeped in history yet plunging headlong into modernity.Walk one of the seven wonders of the world

Details

Itinerary focusClassic Highlights
Group sizeSmall Group - max of 16 people
Age range16 years and up
Flights and transportAll internal ground transport included
Start CityBeijing
End CityBeijing

Travel Themes

  • Cultural
  • Hiking & Walking

Destinations

Attractions

  • Beijing

Activities

  • Culture
  • Hiking
  • History
  • Trekking

Min Group Size

  • Min Group Size: 5

Max Group Size

  • Max Group Size: 16

Trip includes

    • All breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners included
    • All accommodation
    • All transport and listed activities
    • Tour leader throughout
    • Arrival and departure transfers

Popular Trips

Itinerary

Travel Map

Day 1 Arrive Beijing; free afternoon and Beijing duck dinner

Day 2 Drive to Huanghuacheng Great Wall section; afternoon begin trekking.

This morning we leave the capital and head into the countryside to the Great Wall, a 2-2.5 hour journey to the north west of the city. We reach the lesser-visited section at Huanghuacheng, which has an incredibly picturesque location by a lake. The name Huanhuacheng t...

Day 3 Morning trek at Mutianyu, passing many watchtowers.

Today we take a short drive (1-1.5 hours) to Mutianyu. At this lesser-visited section, the Wall is an impressive sight indeed, snaking off across mountains and valleys into the distance. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section used t...

Day 4 Trek at Jiankou's "Wild Wall"

The Jiankou wild wall section was built along a mountain edge and remains completely wild, with towers clinging impossibly to the steepest of ridges. Highlights of the day include “Spiderman Wall”, or “Sanshibadeng” in Chinese; an optional short vertical climb to the ...

Day 5 Transfer to Jinshanling; Hike the Great Wall Jinshanling section.

Day 6 The most challenging walk today along the Gubeikou section

Today we hike from Zhuanduokou Tower along the Gubeikou section of the wall to Panlongshan. This portion keeps the original essence of the wall and will transport us back to the time of the Han Dynasty. We will pass many watchtowers until we reach the unique 24 Window Tower (three level tower). Accommodation: Yeshufang Guesthouse at Gubeikou (or similar)

Day 7 Panlongshan section of the Great Wall

We will walk from Panlongshan north gate to the main entrance. Following our walk along this part of the wall we’ll drive for about three hours back to Beijing. Accommodation: Dong Fang (or similar)

Day 8 Beijing city tour visiting hutongs, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

We take a morning walking tour of the city's hutongs (narrow alleys) to see what is left of old Beijing and its traditions. We also visit Tian’anmen Square; the largest in the world and able to hold over a million people. Later in the day, we visit the Forbidden City ...

Day 9 End Beijing

Our trips ends today in Beijing after breakfast. Free departure transfers are available for all customers departing from either Beijing’s Capital airport (PEK) or Daxing airport (PKX). Transfers should be booked with your sales representative at least two weeks before the tour starts.

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Dates & Availability

Price From $2,100
Price per day$233
Last Updated: 5/22/2024
Departure Date
Finish Date
Shared Room
Single Room
Availability
20 Apr 2025
28 Apr 2025
$2,100
$2,490
10 May 2025
18 May 2025
$2,100
$2,490
24 May 2025
01 Jun 2025
$2,475
30 Aug 2025
07 Sep 2025
$2,100
$2,490
20 Sep 2025
28 Sep 2025
$2,175
$2,565
18 Oct 2025
26 Oct 2025
$2,100
$2,490
11 Apr 2026
19 Apr 2026
$2,175
$2,610
19 Apr 2026
27 Apr 2026
$2,175
$2,610
09 May 2026
17 May 2026
$2,175
$2,610
23 May 2026
31 May 2026
$2,175
$2,610

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

Check current availability, prices, specials & more.

The total tour cost includes the tour price (regular or promotional) and the compulsory local payment. The promotional price is subject to change. Check directly with the operator for the latest price offer. The tour operator requires you to pay only the tour price to purchase your travel. The compulsory local payment will be paid when you join the trip. All prices are based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender. Single supplement only needs to be paid if the passenger does not want to share and requests their own room. Discounts can only be applied at the time of booking and cannot be added at a later date, regardless of any changes made to the original booking.

Prices may vary due to local taxes and trip seasonality. Click "Request Info" to inquire directly with the tour operator for the final trip price.

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Exodus Adventure Travels Reviews & Ratings

4.7/5  Excellent
Excellent
13,502
Great
3,265
Average
609
Disappointing
146
Terrible
190
A

Anonymous

Oct 2018

Very good - just a few tweaks

Overall, we LOVED this trip and would highly recommend it. Just a few minor complaints, many of which are unavoidable (but some could be addressed): - Air polluti...

A

Anonymous

Oct 2018

Our China experience

Truely wonderful, the Great Wall was full of twists and turns, ups and downs , it’s more than I expected. The food was amazing , and we were made very welcome by a...

A

Anonymous

Oct 2018

Walking the Great Wall; and Xi'an

We recently returned from the Great Wall tour and the extension trip to the city of Xi'an to see the terracotta warriors (14th-26th April). The Great Wall experien...

A

Anonymous

Oct 2018

Great Wall of China

First time I have done something like this before but it has been one of the best trips I have done. Wish I could of been out there longer Descending the heavenly s...

A

Anonymous

Oct 2018

Let One Hundred Flowers Bloom

Space, and the (temporary) frontier abound provided that you go boldly, up, more up, and even more up; cast aside fears of teeming hordes, and remember, the people...

Write a Review

Other Exodus Adventure Travels Reviews

S

Sheila Bissell

Apr 2025

Written on
Exodus Adventure Travels Company Reviewsby Exodus Adventure Travels

Excellent service

Excellent service

R

Roger hil

Apr 2025

Written on
Exodus Adventure Travels Company Reviewsby Exodus Adventure Travels

Roger

They were very helpful, polite and knowledgeable

D

Dave

Apr 2025

Written on
Exodus Adventure Travels Company Reviewsby Exodus Adventure Travels

Holiday cost reduced after I’d booked on it…

Booked a holiday which included my loyalty discount. Just checked the website and the trip I’m booked on has had its price reduced, which is pretty frustrating. Perh...

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Logistics

What's excluded

    • Travel insurance
    • Single accommodation (available on request)
    • Chinese Visa - GBP201 with Travcour or GBP151 plus GBP18 special delivery direct with embassy
    • Vaccinations

Accommodation

5 days point-to-point walking with full porterage 4 nights comfortable hotels, 4 nights basic guest houses, all en suite Altitude maximum 1050m, average 600m Sections can be steep, narrow and in poor condition with loose rocks Group normally 5 to 16, plus leader. Min age 16 yrs
You will spend three nights in a well located hotel in Beijing and five nights in simple guesthouses whilst on trek.  Please be aware that accommodation options are limited on trek and the guesthouses offer simple mountain accommodation. Rooms are twin share and have en suite bathrooms. The bathrooms are equipped with Western toilets and there is hot water (although this can be erratic and somewhat unreliable). It can get cold in the mountains and the guesthouses have no central heating but sleeping bags are not required as blankets are provided. There are usually electric heaters available upon request. There is electricity but there can occasionally be power cuts so a torch will come in handy.
Cancellation policy

The cancellation policies of this trip when booked through Travelstride are determined by the stated policies of the tour operator - Exodus Adventure Travels.

If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel a confirmed booking you must notify Travelstride in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by Travelstride and will be effective from the date on which we receive it.

Period before departure in which you notify us

From the date your Booking Confirmation is issued up to, and including, 90 days prior to the departure date specified on the Booking Confirmation.

  • 89 to 52 days (inclusive) prior to the departure date specified on the Booking Confirmation.
  • 51 to 31 days (inclusive) prior to the departure date specified on the Booking Confirmation.
  • 30 days or less prior to the departure date specified on the Booking Confirmation, or after the booking has started

Cancellation charge

Deposit can be transferred to a new booking which must be made within 3 months of the date the original booking was cancelled, and depart within 12 months of the new booking date. If a new booking is not made within this period then the deposit will be forfeited. Any remaining balance will be refunded excluding any non-refundable costs.

  • 50% of the total holiday cost. Any remaining balance will be refunded excluding any non-refundable costs.
  • 75% of the total holiday cost. Any remaining balance will be refunded excluding any non-refundable costs.
  • 100% of the total holiday cost.

For Polar holidays, the following cancellation charges will be made:

Cancellation period (before departure) - Cancellation Fee (per person)

Outside of 180 days - No fee if cancelled within 15 days of booking date. US $1,250 cancellation fee if cancelled 16 days or more of booking date.

179 to 120 days - Loss of deposit.

119 to 90 days prior to departure - 50% of the holiday cost.

89 to 60 days prior to departure - 75% of the holiday cost. 

59 to 0 days prior to departure - 100% of the holiday cost.

For more additional details, see the booking conditions of Exodus Adventure Travels at the following web address: https://www.exodustravels.com/us/about-exodus/exodus-booking-conditions

Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance alongside your travel package to safeguard against unforeseen circumstances such as medical expenses, trip cancellations, and other contingencies. It offers you peace of mind and ensures you are prepared for unexpected events that may occur before or during your journey
Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary depending on your country of origin and your country of destination. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the relevant requirements. For a handy tool that can help you quickly find the requirements, please visit this link .
Meals Included
All breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 dinners are included. Food is cheap in China and you can avoid the spicier regional food if you wish. The cuisine on this trip is fantastically varied with lots of new flavours and 'things' to try. Gastronomically the trip can be divided into two parts: 'tourist hotels' and 'local hotels'. In tourist hotels the breakfast is normally a buffet, with a huge spread of Chinese and western food, including coffee, juice, breads, cakes, fruit, eggs, bacon and a wide variety of noodle and stir fried dishes. Dinners are normally taken in the hotel or local restaurants, serving rice with assorted vegetables, pork, fish, chicken and duck dishes with flavours roughly approximating those you would find in a Chinese restaurant in the UK. In the local hotels, breakfast includes rice porridge, dumplings, eggs, noodles, etc, however, we tend to augment this with fruit and cakes where available. Dinners are taken in local restaurants where the food is heavily flavoured with ginger, garlic bamboo shoots and chilli. Lunches are taken in local village restaurants and will normally consist of noodle soup or stir fried vegetable noodles. Expect an audience most lunches as the locals crowd around to watch the 'big noses' trying to master the use of chopsticks! Vegetarians are well catered for but please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests. Please note that in China the availability of certain specialized products for restricted diets, e.g. gluten-free or dairy-free, is minimal or non-existent and we strongly recommend you bring these specialized dietary items from home. Strict vegetarians may find the diet rather limited to stir fried vegetables and eggs as all the soups are made with meat stock.
Age Requirements
16 years and up
Additional Information
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Trip ID
exodus-TCW

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