4 Days Zhangjiajie Highlights Tour with Fantastic Hiking Experience

Day 1 Zhangjiajie Arrival

Pick-up in Zhangjiajie & Transfer to Wulingyuan Town for Accommodation

Welcome to Zhangjiajie! Upon your arrival, our local tour guide will meet you with a sign on which says your name at the arrival hall in the airport or train station. Then our guide and driver will transfer you directly to your hotel in Wulingyuan in Zhangjiajie by our comfortable private car (non-smoking), and the guide will help you check in. The rest of today is on your own to explore this fabulous city in China.

Arrival Ideas: Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport 6 kilometers from city downtown serves flights between major domestic cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Qingdao, etc. and some international cities like Bangkok, Osaka, etc. Besides, you can also take a normal train to Zhangjiajie Railway Station from many destinations, like Changsha (4.5-5.5 hours), Yichang (4.5-5 hours), Tongren (about 7 hours), Wuhan (10 hours), Xian (15 hours), Shanghai (20 hours), Beijing (23 hours), and so on.

Evening Idea: Xibu Street at Wulingyuan downtown is popular for a leisure walk. You can stroll at the Tujia ethnic flavored shopping pedestrian street to taste local snacks, find interesting artifacts and enjoy the beautiful night view with colorful lights.

• Xibu Street Night View
• Zhangjiajie City View

Day 2 Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (B, L)

Huangshi Village (4 hours’ hiking) - Golden Whip Stream (2.5 hours’ hiking)

After breakfast, you will be met by our guide and driver and then driven to start your exciting hiking tour in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. First, hike about 2 hours up to Huangshi Village and pass through some noted spots, like Arhats Welcome Guests, Southern Sky Column, and then reach the top of the village to appreciate the wide forest park. The village site has an altitude of 1080 meters, which is praised for its similar charm of pillar forest of Colorado in the USA. Enjoying the flat the wide visual environment, it is so far the largest natural viewing deck for visitors for a perfect admiration of its various rising stones and hills. Enjoy your fresh walk to visit the top famous sights including Star Picking Stand, Five Finger Peak, and so on, and find those looking like a book box, bridge piers, nestling couple, etc. from a distance. (Note: There are two hiking routes on the top of Huangshi Village, one is the small circle covering the essences which needs 1 hour’s hiking; and the second is the large circle including more sights taking 2 hours’ for hiking. You can choose either on your own based on your physical condition at that time.)

Later, take the cable car to get down. Then, change your angle to explore the famous Golden Whip Stream deep in the valley. This totally 7.5 kilometers long brook is one of the most beautiful places in the whole forest park area. Take an inspiring roam along the whispering pristine water on the paved path to immerse into tranquil wonderland with fresh air, colorful blooming flowers in different seasons, lush vegetation, etc. and be prepared to encounter with some wild monkeys. The whole hiking experience along Golden Whip Stream is about 2.5 hours.

Plan B: Some travelers would like to enjoy a hiking at Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon with Glass Bridge experience and you can go as following:

After breakfast, be ready for today’s exciting hiking adventure. You will be driven for to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon for about 40 minutes to catch all the heart-stopping and refreshing feelings. Now, its your bold moment to take the challenge and walk on the transparent Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge to feel like walking on the clouds, which is the world longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge so far in the whole universe, with total length of 430 meters and height of 400 meters above the deep valley. After the thrilling moment, take the elevators and enjoy the Nuokeli Slideway to the valley bottom for a cooling down and please your both eyes with the fascinating natural sceneries of the lush forest, emerald lake, various vegetation, etc. at the popular Rainbow Square, Momo Cave, the Holy Spring Lake, etc. The whole hiking experience along the canyon is about 2.5 hours.

In this afternoon, you’ll go on for a hiking tour in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Hike about 2 hours up to Huangshi Village and explore the famous sighs from this largest viewing deck to fully appreciate this incredible forest park. Get down by cable car. Later, if time and energy permits, enjoy some time along Golden Whip Stream.

• Huangshi Village
• Our clients Yannick's group from Belgium visited Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in July, 2019
• Golden Whip Stream Taken by Our Client Keena from USA in September, 2020
• Luliia from Russia Takein by Our Client Luliia from Russia in September, 2020

Day 3 Yuanjiajie - Tianzi Mountain - Ten-mile Gallery (B, L)

Bailong Elevator - Yuanjiajie (1-2 hours’ hiking) - Tianzi Mountain (1.5 hours’ hiking) - Ten-mile Gallery (2.5 hours’ hiking)

After breakfast, visit Wulingyuan Scenic Area to get more highlights. First take a sightseeing bus to experience Bailong Elevator, the fastest elevator and also the tallest outdoor elevator in the world. Enjoy the 1.5 minutes to be shot from the valley bottom up to the pillar peak. And then, hike amongst the multiple erupting stone columns at Yuanjiajie Scenic Area and open the mysterious “Pandora World”. During the exciting hike, get a good preparation to have an enviable look at the South Sky Pillar of around 150 meters high, the authentic prototype inspiring the “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain”; enjoy the best scenery at Enchanting Platform with tens and hundreds of beautiful stone peaks similar to a lot of nutritious bamboo shoots towering from the ground; also, closely watch the peculiar First Bridge of the World that is naturally made with an only 5-meter long stone platform linking the two peaks together to form the rare world wonder. (Note: The whole hiking time in Yuanjiajie is about 1-2 hours.)

Then, take the sightseeing bus to visit Tianzi Mountain. Walk to He Long Park there, which is the best viewing deck to admire very closely the incredible and magnificent view of odd stone peaks standing one after another. Most appealing pictures of the four wonders of Tianzi Mountain are photographed there, including the mists and clouds, moonlight, rays of sunshine and winter snow. Also, walk further to Imperial Writing Brush Peaks and Tianzi Pavilion nearby to enjoy the marvelous view and terrific sightseeing of the Xihai Peak Forest from another angle of view. After that, hike down from Tianzi Pavilion to Ten-mile Gallery for about 2 hours. Enjoy a little hiking along Ten-mile Gallery for the most highlighting spots on the way, like Monkey Slope, Three Sister Peaks, An Old Man Gathering Herbs and so on.

After the tour, be driven to Zhangjiajie downtown area for accommodation. Have a good sleep tonight.

• Bailong Elevator
• Avatar Hallelujah Mountain at Yuanjiajie
• Chona from Philippines visited Tianzi Mountain, Zhangjiajie in September, 2018

Day 4 Tianmen Mountain & Zhangjiajie Departure (B, L)

Tianmen Cable Car - Tianmen Temple - Glass Skywalk - Ghost Valley Plank Road - Tianmen Cave - Avenue toward Heaven - Flight / Train off Zhangjiajie

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. On this day, you will make a great trip to Tianmen Mountain, another magnificent national forest park in Zhangjiajie City.

First transfer to take the Tianmen Mountain Cable Car and ascend from Zhangjiajie downtown up to the peak of Tianmen Mountain of over 1,400 meters above the sea. Travel by the about 7,455 meters long cableway that is so far the longest one among the whole world and have a shocking look at the wandering Avenue toward Heaven from the glass. Then, take the Forest Sightseeing Cable Car to visit Tianmen Temple originated from Tang Dynasty on the mountain peak, which is one of the only world 5 Buddhist temples preserving the Buddha body relics. Walk around the temple cluster to appreciate the featured Qing Dynasty styled Buddhist structure with verdant forest surrounding by.

And then, hold your breath to take two scary walks on the cliff path circling the mountain body. One is the 60-meters long and 1.6-meters wide Glass Skywalk with transparent glass material 1430 meters above the bottomless valley, which makes you feel walking in the air in sunny days and fairyland in misty and cloudy days, while another must be the 1600-meters long Ghost-Valley Plank Road hanging on the cliff. Just step on and test!

After that, take the escalator from the peak down to Tianmen Cave to see the giant hole on the mountain. Formed by natural pressing and collapsing into 131.5 meters high, 57 meters wide and 60 meters deep, this cave is really a rare wonder of the world. Next, walk downstairs along the super steep 999-steps with the highest inclination up to 45°, which is the only access to Tianmen Cave from the foot of the mountain for a lot of prayers worshipping there.  Moreover, take your final challenge to transfer along the Avenue toward Heaven with 99 very sharp turns of about 180°down to the city area. Experience the quite different roller coaster on the flourishing mountain for about 0.5 hour. (If you do not want to walk the steep 999 Steps, you can also choose to take the escalator down to the parking lot to take the sightseeing bus through Avenue toward Heaven, extra fee of 35RMB/person is needed.)

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. Your travel consultant and tour guide will adjust your itinerary accordingly.

After the exciting scenic and adventurous visit, our guide and driver will escort you to Zhangjiajie airport or train station to catch your flight/train to your next destination or home. Service ends!

• Our customers Allan's family from Canada took a cable car to Tianmen Mountain in December, 2020
• Zigzag Road in Tianmen Mountain Taken by Our Client Keena from USA in September, 2020
• Tianmen Cave of Tianmen Mountain Taken by Our Client Mona and Thomans from Germany in November, 2021
• Our client Ronit from Israel enjoyed Glass Skywalk in Tianmen Mountain in May, 2019