Tianmen Mountain (天门山), the second national forest in Zhangjiajie, is the symbol and soul of Zhangjiajie. Someone entitle this mountain as the most beautiful flower garden in the sky and the fairlyland in the boundary of heaven. It is worth visiting for the miraculous and unique geographic landform and unparalleled natural landscape, as well as for its profound cultural connotations and famous colorful humanistic site.
It is listed as one of the "50 worthwhile visiting places for foreign travelers". In Tianmen Mountain, there are some featured activities for you to experience, like Tianmen Mountain cableway, Glass skywalk, Avenue toward Heaven, Tianmen Cave (Closest Earth Landmark to God), and Cliff-hanging walkway.
Tianmen Mountain consists of Tianmen Dongkai Scenic Area, Tianjie Foguo Scenic Area, Biye Yaotai Scenic Area and Mixian Qijing Scenic Area.
It is located in the middle and upper part of Tianmen Mountain with an elevation of 1300m. This scenic area includes Tianmen Cave (Heavenly Gate Cave), Ladder to the Heaven, Tianmen Mountain Cableway, Tongtian Avenue (Avenue toward Heaven), etc.
It is located in the west of Tianmen Mountain. This area is the birthplace of Reclusion Culture and Immortal Culture. The sights mainly include Seek Son Cave, Viewing Guigu Cave, Cliff-Hanging Walkway, Glass Skywalk, Lingxiao Platform, etc.
This area has a complete primitive forest. There are more than 20 spots including Divine Spring, Overlook Heavenly Gate, Cherry Bay, etc.
This scenic area is the center of Buddhist culture, located in the south of Tianmen Mountain. The most typical sight is Tianmen Mountain Temple.
Sketch Map of Tianmen Mountain
From: Tianmen Cableway Lower Station;
To: Tianmen Cableway Upper Station
(Cableway is also available for getting down from upper to lower station.)
Tianmen Mountain Cableway is the longest one-way recycling passenger cableway in the world, with a total length of 7455 meters and a height gap of 1279 meters.
This longest cableway car takes travelers from the atmosphere of Zhangjiajie city downtown directly to the primitive park in the air. During the about 40 minutes’ journey of the cableway, the landscape changes a lot, making travelers experience a miraculous feeling of flying angels in the sky as well as of being blended into a long grand painting of landscape. Overlooking from the cableway, you can see the 99 turns toward the heaven.
Tianmen Mountain Cableway
Tongtian Avenue, also called Avenue toward Heaven, has 99 sharp turns of about 180° symbolizing that heaven has nine palaces. It is the wonder of highway in world. The road has a length of 10.77km and its elevation rising from 200meters to 1300 meters. Traveling through Tongtian Avenue by sightseeing bus, travelers can reach directly Tianmen Cave within 25 minutes.
Please Note: the ride is full of sharp turns along the vertical cliffs. For those who easily have carsickness, please take some carsick medicine or choose not to go by bus. And you can view it from the cableway instead.
Avenue Toward Heaven
The Cliff-Hanging Walkway is about 1600m, with an altitude of 1400m. It starts from Yihong Pass to Little Tianmen Gate. This cliff-hanging walkway is very thrilling. It seems that you are walking by the cliff and in the air. The breathtaking Glass Skywalk is part of the Cliff-Hanging Walkway, about 60 meters long. There is a glass platform for travelers shooting amazing photos. If you like, you can stand on the glass platform to appreciate the breathtaking scenery. At the end of the Cliff-Hanging Walkway, travelers can walk through the 160-meter Hanging Bridge.
Cliff-Hanging Walkway
The glass skywalk is 60 meters long and 1.6 meters wide, with the highest elevation of 1430m. It is part of Cliff-hanging walking, and is the highest section. Travelers should put on shoe cover to pass through the glass skywalk. The walk is challenging, giving a thrilling feeling like walking in the sky. An unforgettable lifetime experience, isn’t it?
Please note: It will not be so thrilling during foggy days. And it will be closed during the rainy, icy and snowy days. You are advised to check the weather forecast before going to Tianmen Mountain if you want to get the best experience of the glass walkway. For the detailed info, you can also feel free to contact our experienced travel consultants to meet your needs and requirements.
Glass Skywalk
Tianmen Cave is the natural water-eroded cave, with the highest elevation in the world. It runs south-northward with a height of 131.5 meters, a width of 57 meters and a depth of 60 meters. Tianmen Cave rises above the ground and closes to the sky with a lofty and towering posture. It is much like a door to the heaven. In 1999, the masters of international stunt flying piloted the planes to fly through Tianmen Cave.
Travelers should walk 999 steep and narrow steps to climb the “Ladder to the Heaven” and reach Tianmen Cave and enjoy fantastic scenery from above.
Please Note: the Tongtian Avenue and Tianmen Cave may close during the frozen days in the winter time. For the detailed news, please contact our professional travel consultants beforehand for more weather and transportation information.
▶ 4 Days Zhangjiajie Tour to Yuanjiajie & Tianmen Mountain National Park
Tianmen Cave
Take the 7455-meter cableway to get up Tianmen Mountain; Arrive at Tianmen Mountain cable station (Upper) and choose west route to travel through Mixian Qijing Scenic Area and experience Cliff-Hanging Walkway and Glass Skywalk, visit Tianmen Temple; Take Tianmen Mountain Peak Forest Sightseeing Cable Car from Cherry Bay to Yunmeng Xianding; reach upper escalator Tianmen Mountain to get down Tianmen Cave and visit the door to heaven; get down from Tianmen Cave to the parking lot and take sightseeing bus to experience 99 turns via Tongtian Avenue. (Note: If you don’t want to go 99 turns on bus, travelers can go up from Tianmen Cave by escalator and take cableway to get down.)
Take the 7455-meter cableway to get up Tianmen Mountain; arrive at the upper cable station and choose the west route to visit Mixian Qijing Scenic Area and experience Cliff-Hanging Walkway and Glass Skywalk; visit Tianjie Foguo scenic area to Tianmen Temple; hike on the east route to travel through the primitive forest in Biye Yaotai Scenic Area and visit many sights along the way; get down from upper escalator to Tianmen Cave; visit Tianmen Cave and walk 999 steps to Tianmen Cave parking lot to take sightseeing bus to get down Tianmen Mountain by wandering through Tongtian Avenue with 99 turns. (Note: If you don’t want to go 99 turns on bus, travelers can go up from Tianmen Cave by escalator and take cableway to get down.)
Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park is located in south of Zhangjiajie, 8 kilometers from downtown area. It usually needs about only 5 minutes by local taxi or private car to get to Tianmen Cableway Lower Station to take the cable car up to Tianmen Mountain, and it is also the place to take sightseeing bus up to the mountain scenic area. You can take bus, taxi, private car etc. from airport, train station, and other tourist attractions in Zhangjaijie to get to the lower station. It transfers travelers between Tianmen Cableway Middle Station/Lower Station and Tianmen Cave.
About 5km’s driving distance; it costs about 10 minutes and about 30 Yuan.
About 1km’s driving distance; it costs about 5 minutes and about 10 Yuan. It takes around 15 minutes by walking.
If you want to get rid of the hustle of public transportation and troublesome navigation, you are recommended to travel with China Discovery and book a private tour package which covers sightseeing, dining, transfer, guide service, etc. Our local tour guide and driver will escort you to Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain with safety, speed and convenience by licensed private car from China Discovery, and take care of all the details. You just need to focus on sightseeing.
Tianmen Mountain Location Map
In different seasons, Tianmen Mountain has different scenery. In spring, it is still a little bit cold. When taking cableway to pass through the farm fields and get up Tianmen Mountain, you can see many flowers in blossom. It has heavy fog in this season, and Tianmen Cave is very mysterious with fog at this time. In summer, Tianmen Mountain is very cool and becomes a good place to escape the heat. In autumn, the weather and temperature is moderate and the scenery is fantastic. Some trees turn yellow and red, giving the mountain more colorful scenery. In winter, Tianmen Mountain is cold and sometimes it snows. Tianmen Mountain becomes the icy world. To avoid the coldness, it is recommended to visit during April to October. Know more about Zhangjiajie Weather & Best Time to Visit >>
Travel Tip: For safety reasons, the Ghost-Valley Plank Road and Tianmen Cave may be closed in winter if there are heavy snows, freezing weather or regular maintenance. And the sightseeing bus along Avenue toward Heaven may also stop the operation. If you go with us, your travel consultant and tour guide will adjust your itinerary accordingly.
Tickets of Tianmen Mountain: 232 Yuan, including sightseeing ticket, double cableway ticket and sightseeing bus, excluding the Tianmen Mountain Peak Forest Sightseeing Cable Car and the lower part of escalator Tianmen Cave. The ticket is valid for one day.
Tianmen Cave Escalator
Fee: 32 Yuan for the lower escalator
It consists of the upper escalator and lower escalator. The upper escalator runs between Tianmen Cave and Biye Yaotai scenic area. The lower escalator runs between the Parking Lot of Tianmen Cave and Tianmen Cave. Taking the lower escalator, travelers can save energy to climb the 999 steps which makes the visit easier.
Tianmen Mountain Peak Forest Sightseeing Cable Car
Fee: 25 Yuan per way
It starts from the main peak of Tianmen Mountain – Yu Meng Xian Peak, to Cherry Bay near Tianmen Mountain Temple. With a length of 800m, it takes 10 minutes one way. Taking sightseeing cable car, you can not only overlook the primitive forest scenery, but also save energy and time to make your trip easier.
Sightseeing Bus
The sightseeing bus along the 99 turned Avenue toward Heaven runs 25-30 minutes one way at 10-minute intervals. It runs between Tianmen Cableway Middle Station/Lower Station and Tianmen Cave.
Check for more details at What to Pack for a Zhangjiajie Tour.
Time: 20:15-21:50 every evening during March to December of the year (If it rains, you will be given a raincoat for free. In cold days of winter, you can rent warm cotton-padded clothes.)
Place: Tianmenshan Canyon Theater
Tianmen Fox Fairy is the real-scene musical drama with the Tianmen Mountain and its deep valleys as the stage background. The show tells a romantic love story about a fox fairy and an ordinary woodman making a living by chopping woods. Combining the local music, the indigenous life style and ancient love story, with the marvelous valley as background, this show will add more fun to your Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain trip.
Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain is popular among global visitors with its fabulous sightseeing and the large series of heartstopping adventures to try. And people usually spend 4-5 days to discover this mountain scenic area together with other top highlights of Zhangjiajie to enrich their trip.
You can take one day for an easy arrival. And for the 2nd and 3rd days, you can go to explore the magnificent Zhangjiajie National Forest Park with surreal Avatar Mountains and more natural wonders at Tianzi Mountain, Huangshizhai, etc. For the 4th day, you can visit Tianmen Mountain to experience all its interesting things. If you want to seek more excitements, spend one more day to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon to walk on the world famous glass-bottomed hanging bridge on the deep valley, and explore the beautiful Yellow Dragon Cave on the save day. If you got a longer vacation, you can extend to Fenghuang Ancient Town to admire the antique Tujia ethnic buildings and their pure minority culture and history with the lovely night view. Here below are our top popular tour packages with Tianmen Mountain, please check the details to help with your itinerary planning.
Zhangjiajie Tours:
▶ 4 Days Zhangjiajie Tour to Yuanjiajie & Tianmen Mountain National Park
▶ 5 Days Zhangjiajie Ultimate Adventure Tour with Glass Bridge & Tianmen Mountain
Zhangjiajie China Tours:
▶ 7 Days Zhangjiajie to Fanjingshan Unbelievable Nature Tour
▶ 7 Days Xian Mount Hua Zhangjiajie National Park Tour
Learn more about How to Plan a Trip to Zhangjiajie >>
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge
Are you planning a tour with Zhangjiajie Tianmen Mountain but do not want to arrange the complicated things like transportation, accommodation, tour guide, etc.? Travel with us China Discovery, and we will arrange local travel guide and driver who will escort you from your hotel to the attraction with comfortable licensed private vehicle by China Discovery, so you can pay more attention to the highlights on the way. Moreover, our guide will give professional and interesting introduction of all the highlights during your trip to ignite your travel experience. Furthermore, our travel expert will help you customize your own tour to visit more places in Zhangjiajie and other popular destinations in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Hong Kong, Guilin, Chengdu, Guizhou, Huangshan, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yunnan, Yangtze River, Lhasa, etc. with professional and helpful suggestions. If you are interested, please feel free to tell us directly.
We have helped many global travelers enjoy their memorable trips to Zhangjiajie for the past few years. Among them Mr. Elie & his wife from Belgium enjoyed 5 days in Zhangjiajie during their 69 days China trip customized with us and shared us their travel story. Travel with China Discovery to create your wonderful Zhangjiajie trip memories!
Top 3 Zhangjiajie tours chosen by most customers to explore Zhangjiajie in the best way. Check the detailed itinerary, or tailor your own trip now with us.
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