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Home/Destinations/Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie
Hunan Province

Zhangjiajie Tours & Travel Guide

The floating mountains of Avatar

4 daysRecommended
April&ndashBest season
6Signature sights
Price on requestQuoted per itinerary
Why come here

Three thousand quartz sandstone pillars rising up to 200 metres out of a subtropical forest. The Chinese government renamed one of them the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain after the film, which is a marketing decision, but the landscape itself needs no help.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site spread over 3,000 square kilometres. It is genuinely vertical: cable cars, the world's tallest outdoor glass lift and a glass bridge are the ways up, and there is a lot of stair walking in between.

This is the most physically demanding route we run, and also the one people photograph most. Four to five days lets you do the park, Tianmen Mountain and the riverside town of Fenghuang without exhausting anyone.

Best seasonApril–June and September–October
Time needed4–5 days
Gateway airportZhangjiajie Hehua (DYG)
Getting thereFlight from Guangzhou or Shanghai; high-speed rail via Changsha
Daily walking8,000–12,000 steps, with real heights
Halal foodHalal-friendly restaurants in Zhangjiajie city; limited inside the park
Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie
What to see

The sights worth your time

Tap any one open for the practical detail — how long to allow, and how we work it into your day.

Yuanjiajie & the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain
The dense cluster of pillars that opens out of the mist in the film. The Bailong Elevator — a 326 m glass lift built into a cliff face — takes you up in under two minutes.
Our tip: We start early. By 10:00 the viewing platforms are shoulder to shoulder for Chinese holidays.
Tianmen Mountain
A 7.5 km cableway — one of the longest in the world — up to a cliff-top walkway, a glass skywalk and the 999 steps to Heaven's Gate, a natural arch punched through the mountain.
Our tip: Height warning: several sections are on glass above a serious drop. Tell us if anyone in your group is uneasy and we will re-plan the route.
Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge
A 430 m glass-bottomed bridge across a 300 m deep canyon. Timed entry tickets must be reserved in advance, which we handle.
Our tip: Closed in high wind and heavy rain. We build in a backup day when the forecast looks marginal.
Golden Whip Stream
A flat, shaded 7 km walk along a stream at the bottom of the pillars. This is the park without the height, and the best option for families with young children or grandparents.
Our tip: Roughly 2.5 hours at an easy pace, mostly on wooden walkways.
Fenghuang Ancient Town
A Ming-era river town of stilt houses on the Tuojiang River, two hours from Zhangjiajie. Lantern-lit at night, and best experienced by staying in the old town rather than visiting for an afternoon.
Our tip: We book riverside guesthouses with a view over the water and the covered bridge.
Baofeng Lake
A short boat ride between forested cliffs with Tujia folk singing on the water. A gentle half-day that pairs well with a rest afternoon.
Our tip: About 1.5 hours total, including the short walk to the pier.
Halal & Muslim-friendly dining

Eating well in Zhangjiajie

Zhangjiajie sits in Hunan, where the local cuisine is pork-heavy and famously spicy, so halal food needs planning rather than luck. Zhangjiajie city has several halal-friendly restaurants, mostly run by Hui families, and we book them in advance. Inside the national park the options are thin, so on full park days we arrange a packed halal lunch with the hotel rather than taking a chance on a snack stall. Tell us at planning stage and we will confirm every meal before you travel.

When to go

Zhangjiajie, season by season

Mar–MayGreen, misty and quieter. The mist makes the pillars look exactly like the photographs.
Jun–AugWarm and very wet. Rain is common but the park is at its lushest.
Sep–OctThe best window: clear air, cool days, and the pillars visible for long distances.
Nov–FebCold and often snowy, which is beautiful but closes the glass bridge. Few visitors.
Routes that include Zhangjiajie

Sample itineraries

Each of these is a starting point. We reshape every one around your dates, your group and your pace.

All routes →
How our pricing works. We do not publish fixed prices, because a fixed price would either overcharge a couple or underdeliver for a group of nine. Every itinerary is quoted individually against your dates, hotel standard and group size, with everything itemised in writing. Send us your travel window and we will come back within 24 hours with a full quotation and no obligation.
Questions

Zhangjiajie — frequently asked

Is Zhangjiajie suitable for children or elderly travellers?
Partly. Golden Whip Stream and Baofeng Lake are flat and easy, and the cable cars remove most climbing. But Tianmen Mountain and the glass bridge involve height and long stair sections. Tell us the ages and fitness of your group and we will build a version that works — many families do three easy days rather than four hard ones.
How do we get there?
Zhangjiajie Hehua Airport has direct flights from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu. Otherwise we route you by high-speed rail to Changsha and drive the last two hours, or by rail to Zhangjiajie West. We book the flights or the seats and meet you either way.
Do we need advance tickets for the glass bridge?
Yes — entry is timed and daily numbers are capped. We reserve as soon as your dates are confirmed, which is one reason we ask for dates early.
Can we combine Zhangjiajie with Guilin or Fenghuang?
Both work well. Fenghuang is two hours away by road and combines naturally into a five-day route. Guilin is a short flight or a rail connection, and the two together make an excellent nine-day southern China trip.
Close by

Destinations that pair well with Zhangjiajie

Guilin & YangshuoGuilin & YangshuoGuangxi ProvinceChengduChengduSichuan ProvinceShanghaiShanghaiEast China
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