Your fundraising and training is about to pay off as the big day has finally arrived. Wave goodbye to family and friends and board your overnight flight to Beijing, where your challenge begins.
Ni Hao, welcome to China!
Your local Charity Challenge guide will be on hand at the airport to welcome you and organise your road transfer to the first night's accommodation. In the evening, you will gather together for a trek briefing and inaugural team dinner to prepare for your incredible adventure.
Accommodation: Lodge
Today, after a short group warm up, your trek on the wall will begin. After just a few kilometres, you will leave behind the tourists and reach an original section of the wall. Its steep, crumbling staircases will provide a fitting introduction to the enormity of the challenge ahead. Be sure to count the watchtowers as you pass through them and take time to look back and see what you have achieved. Tonight, you will get the chance to rest your weary legs at the lodge and celebrate your first trekking day achievements, before getting a good night’s sleep.
Accommodation: Lodge
Today you will take on the demanding Gubeikou section of the wall, which begins with a steady climb on uneven ground, past several time-worn watchtowers. Gubeikou was once the site of incessant warfare and was heavily guarded leading to an interesting variety of defence structures. This part of the wall offers fantastic panoramic views over rural China so be sure to have your camera to hand. The end of the day walk to your lodge where a delicious evening meal will await you.
Accommodation: Lodge
Today follows the Mutianyu section of the wall and will see you taking on the "Heavenly Staircase".
You will begin the day with a steep climb up towards the first watchtower on this section before following this along to the Heavenly Staircase. Once at the top, you can bask in the glory of the truly breath-taking scenery around you and take advantage of being on one of the quieter sections of the wall. Given the number of stairs and the scale of the climb, today will test even the fittest of legs.
Accommodation: Lodge
Today's trek starts in Chenjiapu Village, leading to a wilder part of the Great Wall. We'll be passing a border checkpoint, so make sure that you have your passport handy!
The first part of the wall will be rough and rocky, with some short detours to avoid the trickier areas. You'll make your way to the General's Tower, believed to be a former command post with incredible views of the area. After taking in the view, you'll continue along to a pass in the mountains guarded by two towers, before hiking down to a dip in the mountains. Make sure to get a look back at how far you've come today, and grab some great photos of the General's Tower framed in gaps in the battlement!
Accommodation: Lodge
Today’s trek will take you to the best preserved and most complete section of the wall. With classic views of the wall winding its way over the hills and into the distance, there will be plenty of perfect photo opportunities along the way. After conquering the final watchtower of the day, it will be time to leave this impressive fortification behind you to transfer to your accommodation for tonight to celebrate your achievements with your fellow trekkers and new-found friends.
Accommodation: Hotel
With the hard work done, it will be time to relax and enjoy some of the cultural highlights of China's historic capital, Beijing.
Today’s city tour of Beijing includes a visit to Tiantan Park and the Temple of Heaven, where you can join the locals as they enjoy a morning of Tai Chi, Mah Jong and their own unique version of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’! An opportunity for some shopping at the local market is followed by a tour around Tiananmen Square and the magnificent Forbidden City, before a final group dinner of traditional Peking Duck or a vegetarian alternative.
Accommodation: Hotel
It’s time to bid a fond farewell to China and make your way to the airport for your morning flight home. Filled with a profound sense of pride and a wish that the adventure could continue, you will return home armed with stories and memories that will last a lifetime...or at least until the next challenge.
BELIEVE >> ACHIEVE >> INSPIRE
We hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 6546. Many of the flight-inclusive challenges on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. This ATOL protection only covers challenges that include flights booked by Charity Challenge and that originate in the UK. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLcertificate
