This trek is operated with a strict policy against waste. We do not use disposable items and carry all our own cooking and eating utensils. We leave no waste and as such we do not impose on the local environment or the limited resources of our host families. We carry LPG fuel for all our cooking rather than use wood.
Our guests in China are reminded of the scarcity of water in most districts and asked to respect the limits imposed in our host communities. You will be briefed on the Chinese culture and etiquette in order that you do not unintentionally offend our hosts or others and thus avoiding embarrassment of either party. We have successfully applied an ethos that has respected the remote cultures through which the Great Wall Trek has passed for almost a decade.
A proportion of the cost of this trip will go towards a fund set up by our local operation in China which will provide books and sports equipment to schools in Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia. The most recent donation was competition-standard table-tennis equipment to a middle school at Shuiquan. This donation was deemed of such significance that the regional Communist Party officials and town mayor attended what became a gala event for the handing over of the table. We have used the donated funds also to establish a library at the same school and to provide specialist equipment such as art supplies for children showing extraordinary talent and could not afford to buy such luxuries with the family income.
This tour operator was set up in 1975 by two university students. Excited by their own trekking adventures in Nepal, they started organising group trips to the Himalayas for people who wanted to see real culture and wilderness and didn’t mind getting a bit dirty. They believed that adventure travel means exploring the unknown and the company’s philosophy remains as such today. These good-quality trips don’t leave anything out, they provide full camping equipment, decent staff wages and a local team of guides that can help break down barriers and offer authentic experiences that lie far beyond well-trodden travel trails.

We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
