Lonely Planet Experiences Private Crowd-free BeijingTour: Great Wall Experience

No visit to Beijing is complete without walking along the legendary Great Wall of China, so escape the busy city streets with us and experience one of the Great Wonders. We promise you won't regret it!

Unlike other Great Wall tours in Beijing, we focus on giving you an awesome, authentic private experience. That means we don’t take you to any shops or factories along the way – it’s all Great Wall all the time (except for a delicious local lunch…but that’s a good thing). Our Great Wall tour is hassle-free, so your experience is not only memorable, but totally authentic as well.

Beat the early morning traffic with an early pickup and head outside Beijing for the Great Wall of China. Arrive at Mutianyu before the crowds (the later you come, the more “people experience” you will have than “Wall experience” – trust us). Mutianyu is a mostly restored, spectacular section of the Wall, and as your first stop at the Wall, you’re going to want to take a moment to take in this incredible view. It's a short hike up onto the Wall, but the climb is worth it, as you'll be rewarded with amazing views of the wall as it stretches through the surrounding countryside. Yep. That's right. You've made it to the Great Wall of China. Savour this moment. An alternative is to take the cable car up (at your own expense) to the Wall if you wish to avoid the climb, giving you the flexibility that you can enjoy at your own pace.

Trek along to the watchtowers and learn about some of the Wall’s myths and legends from your local guide, all the while drinking in even more spectacular views. Although there are a lot of steep steps in places, we invite you to tackle the Great Wall at your own pace as you soak up the magnitude of this feat of engineering.

At the end of the walk along the Great Wall of China, it's up to you how you want to get down. You can head back the way you came, or, if you fancy a different perspective, take the cable car or toboggan (yep, toboggan) back down.

After well and truly working up an appetite, we'll head for a tasty local lunch and try some Chinese specialties. With full tummies, we'll start making the journey back to Beijing. Your local guide can give you more suggestions on what to do, so don’t be shy to ask our local experts for their help.

If you wish to explore more of Beijing with us, feel free to ask your local guide about other Urban Adventures that we do in this majestic capital. Surely you will find something that’ll suit you!

(If you’d prefer to travel as part of a regular group experience, please book our Great Wall Experience group tour.)

This tour is priced for a minimum group size of two travellers. A solo traveller may still book this private experience but will be charged the base rate for two travellers.

IMPORTANT: Chinese law requires that all travellers must provide their name, gender, nationality, passport number and birthdate to their tour operator upon booking a tour. Failure to do so could result in a traveller not being able to join their tour, or for the entire group to be denied access to sites such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. When you book this tour, please be sure to fill out all fields at checkout. Please also enter your passport number into the 'Additional Information' box and bring your passport with you on the tour.