We wanted to hike the Great Wall away from the general tourist population and vendors and found this tour offered by Leo Hostel on the internet. The information on the tour can be found at: http://www.leohostel.com/LEO_HOSTEL_TOURS.html
Part of this hike is on a restored section of the Wall and the latter part is unrestorerd. You can go as far as you want and then return to the starting point. Leo Hostel takes you from their location in a hutong southwest of Tiananmen Square in a van (not fancy) to the start of the hike. There is a guide who accompanies you to the 1st tower and provides a bit of history of the Wall. After that you are on your own to proceed at your own pace and to go as far as you want before turning back (you can only go as far as the 6th tower). You are given a return time to be at the van and then taken to a home in a nearby town that provides a traditional chinese lunch (included in the price of 260 RMB--about $40) of rice and numerous bowls of cooked vegetables. I'm not a fan of vegetables and rice, but everyone else thought the food was delicious. We only saw a handful of other people besides the 7 people in our tour group. This is truly a spectacular hike and if you don't mind riding in a less-than-luxurious older van (remember, this is a hostel!), this is a wonderful option for a Great Wall hike.









