In September 2024, a small group of 8 people hiked the Great Wall of China. Our local partners from Great Wall Hiking did an excellent job organizing all the logistics, supporting and helping us in every possible way. I was personally impressed by their strong organization and dedication. I'd like to especially thank Gary Lee (the company owner), Luis, our guide on the Wall, and Lao Sun, our guide in Xi'an. All of them are true professionals. We completed 5 treks on and around the Great Wall of China, including wild, unmaintained parts. We visited small communities, were accommodated by local families, and tried local food. Overall, the experience was once in a lifetime. We'll definitely use Great Wall Hiking's services for our future trips, not only around the Wall but also elsewhere in China. It's extremely important to have a reliable local partner, and Great Wall Hiking Tour is definitely such a company. Thank you, Gary, Luis, and Lao Sun. Pavel Gospodinov, owner and manager at Thousand Voyages Bulgaria

Luis was a fantastic guide. He was full of information and passion for the Great Wall and greatly enhanced our trip. He took care of everything, which meant that we saw the wall early in the morning before the crowds, and also made our train on time. He helped with train tickets that weren't part of the tour - he was so helpful and kind. We had a fantastic day at the Great Wall that we will never forget.

I booked this tour online and easily paid the deposit via PayPal. Communication with Gary was excellent from start to finish. Our tour guide,Woody picked us up at our hotel exactly on time. The driver was polite and friendly and immediately offered us water. The car was lovely, clean and had AC in the back with personal controls. During the drive, Woody provided really interesting history on The Great Wall and China in general. It took about two hours to arrive to the village where we began our hike to the Jiankou section of the wall. They weren’t lying when they said this part is strenuous. It was hard work but totally worth it when we got to the top. The view was amazing and the vastness of the wall stretching in both directions is something I’ll never forget. The Jiankou section is wild and has not been preserved but it’s spectacular. Despite it being the May public holiday there were very few other hikers on this section. Woody was wonderful company and we chatted easily along the two hour hike to the Mutianyu. This section has been preserved and is a major tourist attraction especially on a public holiday. There were thousands of people so and a struggle to pass through the narrow watch towers. We finally made it to the cable car and descended down where our driver picked us up. Exhausted and hungry we went for a delicious lunch. Woody picked some lovely dishes that we all enjoyed. Then it was back to Beijing. I honestly couldn’t recommend this trip more highly. It’s an experience I’ll never forget. I can’t wait to visit China again.

We did the 3 day hike with Great Wall Hiking and it was amazing. Our guide Luis was terrific. He showed us beautiful and remote areas of the wall with very other people. He was very knowledgeable and also a good person to spend time with. The accommodations were also very nice with clean nice rooms, great food, and great hospitality. We highly recommend Great Wall Hiking Company and Luis as a guide. The hikes are strenuous but well worth it for some of the most amazing views we have ever experienced. Thank you Luis!!

We had a fabulous 3 days on the wall. Luis was an awesome guide. He added so much value to an incredible experience and he made sure we had the time to appreciate our surroundings. We would highly recommend Great Wall Hiking to anybody thinking of visiting the wall.

Excellent Great Wall hike. A wild section from jiankou to mutianyu with no crowds and great scenery. Pick up from the hotel and expert guiding from Luis, who spoke very good English and provided much background on the wall and the region. He also paced well an aged me and 2 teens up the first steep section - couldn’t/ wouldn’t have done it without him! Gary was super efficient on the logistics. Overall highly recommended for any visitor wanting to see china slightly off the beaten track.

This was the greatest experience we could have asked for! Gary was so helpful in arranging the tour for my mom and I; he planned the perfect tour for us on the Jinshaling section. He also helped me acquire a stylist warm jacket to wear since it was cold (January) when we went! Jason was our guide and he was so knowledgeable and patient with us and our different skill levels. He is a great photographer too and took so many fantastic pictures of us! Thanks, Gary and Jason! I highly recommend this tour!

Great service! Highly recommend it. The service was perfect. I understand this was the low season and most hotels and restaurants were closed but they did all for it to be perfect.

Such an amazing trip. Gary was very helpful and responsive and my guide Oliver was knowledgeable and lovely. Hardly saw any other tourists in the two days and the views and hiking were outstanding. We stayed with a local farmer and made dumplings and drank rice wine. Perfect trip for those looking to truly experience the Wall away from their crowds. Highly recommend.

We were in China for 3 weeks and of course wanted to visit the Great Wall. I found Great Wall Hiking in my Lonely Planet guide, where it was recommended to visit with a hiking company. I was skeptical, my husband and I are both in our early 60’s, we don’t hike at all, and I certain didn’t want a fast-paced hike for several hours. I checked out their website which was very informative – how to choose which section of the wall to visit based upon your level of physical activity, comfort, etc. We decided the Mutianyu section would work for us, so I contacted Gary and he assured me he would choose a guide for us that would meet our “take it easy” requirements. Our guide Dewit was perfect. He met us at our hotel around 10:00, we drove to the Olympic Park, which was amazing, then off to lunch at a local restaurant, and off to Mutianyu. We hopped on the shuttle bus and then took the cable car up. Once we reached the wall (tower 14?), we walked left towards watchtower 22. Absolutely beautiful and it was practically empty! I don’t know if it’s because the weather was a bit overcast, or because it was the afternoon (vs. morning) but at some sections, we had the wall to ourselves. Dewit walked with us at our slow pace and encouraged us along the way, as some sections are quite steep with uneven steps, so you need to be careful. We rested along the way as need, it was perfect. We were so happy with Great Wall Hiking and highly recommend if you visit Beijing.

Our guide was Dewit. We started our hike from Simatai West to Jinshanling (that's like the moderate level). As it was our first time on the Great Wall, Dewit helped us to acclimatize to the climb by asking us to climb a few steps and stop a minute for a breather and start our climb again, so on and so forth. I think this method helped us alot as otherwise, we would have difficulty completing (or no motivation) the hike. The view and experience was amazing. I really recommend anyone to have the Great Wall on their travel bucket list. Thank you Dewit!!!

I was fortunate enough to do the three day trek with this company. I was “the group” and as the solo trekker I had lots of great attention and care for safety given some rainy weather. The hike in non restored sections was breathtaking and even the restored portion was no piece of cake in spots. My guide Woody was informative and had a good sense of humour. The Great Wall Inn where I spent a couple of nights had one of the most comfortable beds I have have found in my 4 years living in China. The owners were kind and generous and the food was amazing. So grateful I had this experience and with all the research in options to select for this experience I definitely picked the right company. Thanks to Gary the boss, Woody the guide, and Jason the safe driver for making this once in a lifetime trek so memorable!

I had booked with this organisation after much research on what is possible for a multi day trek on the Great Wall. As I was travelling on my own, safety was important, and on that front, they certainly delivered. I had both a driver and a guide. The driver was truly excellent, and the car (a new model Volkswagen Passat) was sparkling clean and high quality. My guide Peter spoke excellent English and was extremely knowledgeable about the Wall’s history, etc. This was a huge advantage, compared to other independent hikers I saw who were simply zipping along without the context and amazing history. So for these reasons, I would definitely recommend this company. They are certainly not cheap, but it would be far more affordable if you don’t do it solo. Also, I wanted to get away from the teeming hoards of people that you see photos of near Beijing. Success! We were definitely on a more remote section of the wall, and there were sometimes hours between sightings of other trekkers. Which was great. Three things let it down, that made me give four stars and not five. Perhaps these are unavoidable. First, the accommodation is very basic. For the price you pay, I would have expected better. Having said that, we were staying quite off the tourist trail, so there probably weren’t a lot of options. They also own one place that we were at for two nights. You can read my review of that place under “Great Wall Inn” in Gubeikou. Second, I had thought this three day / two night trek would be tough, as it is certainly written up that way. It most decidedly is not. If you are an experienced hiker (as I am), and have a modicum of fitness, the reality is these are half day walks strung out to give the appearance of full day treks. I would rate the walking as moderate. Of course, that is for someone who is very experienced. I certainly saw a lot of people suffering in some areas, including my guide. So I know it is all relative. Which brings me to my third point. My guide simply did not have a level of fitness to match my own, so I was often waiting for him on the steeper sections, and also carried gear/ food for him, to assist him on two of the days. Although we joked about it, and he let me go ahead at times, the reality is this was a limiting factor for how far we could go. He was definitely setting the pace, not me. Again, this likely wouldn’t be a problem for most clients. My last little complaint was that I am a coffee fiend, and China is not the place to get a decent coffee. But even so, I would have been happy to have instant Nescafé, which would have tasted like manna from heaven compared to the instant crappy version we had. Again, my guide was not a coffee drinker, and when we were getting food at a grocery store for the trek, he insisted we didn’t need any Nescafé, as he had some coffee for me. Big mistake. So if you go, make sure you bring your own coffee option with you, if coffee is important to you. Ha ha. I hope that helps! I am glad I went with this company, and can I say that this itinerary is certainly worthwhile for getting a good Great Wall experience.

The adventure of a lifetime! Thanks to good fortune plus meticulous preparation and care by our guide Peter and his team throughout, we were able to experience the most extraordinary wild wall and its surroundings in perfect conditions - almost entirely alone, just after a snowfall, and sparkling clear sunshine. The views are spectacular, the history is astonishing, and remember - this is a defensive wall, through some pretty steep mountains, so expect to go up and down at 70 degrees, frequently! This was a strenuous but entirely doable two days of hiking for us as a fit couple in our sixties. Our particular route included some off-wall sections which we really enjoyed - it was great to hike through snowy valleys amongst birds and chestnut orchards. Every metre of the route was spectacular and the whole experience was one of the most joyful and uplifting in my life. Peter picked us up at our hotel and on the ride out, gave us a fascinating briefing about the history of the great wall including beautifully annotated maps and notes for us to read later. He and our very experienced driver got us up and going on the trail with a minimum of fuss, yet helpful items like hiking poles for us to borrow. Our guide was always careful to inform us what was going on and to consult us about every decision and option along the way, while being very careful about our safety. We had enough breaks, but it was too cold to take long breaks. We hiked about 10 km on Day 1. Peter continued to add layers of understanding in manageable chunks, from the extraordinary sticky-rice-enhanced cement used with locally baked bricks to the ways the wall was only part of a larger defensive system, to translating the individually-marked quality stamps in every 100th brick, telling the stories of who made and who laid the bricks in each section. There is quite a hike down off the wall at Jinshanling and then another km or so of regular road that is not open to the public - our amazing guide Peter arranged a shuttle van to take us along that section back to the main road to meet our regular driver. On the way to our overnight accommodation in what they call a farmer's house, which is basically a BnB setup, we went for a feast of a late lunch at a local restaurant. Another feast was on offer for dinner but when we opted for an early night, our guide was able to rustle up a fresh fruit tray for us in moments - just an example of the exceptional care we received at all times. Day 2 was just as amazing. We were so excited that Peter proposed an early start, to get up to the top of the wall for sunrise - it was around -15C when we left the BnB in the darkness but totally worth it to be on top of the world as the sun made its way over the furthest peaks around 7:30 am. Most of the day was on restored sections of the wall, which does make the hiking easier, but towards the end we ventured back onto wild wall sections and also off the wall again. Each different terrain has its own charm but don't underestimate the challenge of hiking through rough ground and scattered fallen stones and bricks covered by snow, all on steep slopes. On the way back to Beijing Peter took us to a brilliant Mongolian-style hotpot restaurant and ever the courteous host, he taught us a whole lot more about the different hotpot cultures and the make-up of the dipping sauce he personally mixed for us. Everything including beer was included in this experience-of-a-lifetime tour.

To see such a massive structure that still stands the test of time is a marvel to witness in person.