4 Days Zhangjiajie Avatar Mountains Tour

After breakfast, your guide and the driver will meet you at your hotel lobby. While we have selected the finest hotels in Zhangjiajie, local breakfast options are often traditional Chinese buffets. Please let your guide know if you would prefer them to bring some coffee and bread to suit your taste.

We’ll then start a full-day exploration of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The former Colorado Lieutenant Governor Nancy E. Dick once visited here, eulogizing, “Zhangjiajie is incredibly beautiful and utterly wondrous. People speak of the Grand Canyon in Colorado as magical, but I think Zhangjiajie is even more extraordinary.”

★ All Inclusive & Full Access 

Beyond basic admission, your package includes unlimited use of the park’s elevators, cable cars, and shuttles, giving you seamless transit among different peaks and viewpoints in the Forest Park.

Upon arrival, let’s board the world’s highest outdoor sightseeing lift, Bailong Elevator. Built against a sheer cliff, with a vertical height equivalent to 100 stories, it cuts what was once a 4- to 5-hour mountain drive into a breathtaking 88-second ascent. Stepping out of the elevator, you’ll get into the heart of the park, Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, where more than 3,000 karst pillars sculpted by nature over 3 million years, soar from the deep valley. Among them stands the most prideful star, the Hallelujah Mountain, towering 150 meters (492 feet) above the canyon floor. You might be familiar with its name; absolutely, this very landscape inspired the floating mountain of Pandora in the sci-fi film “Avatar”! In 2008, the Hollywood photographer Hansen spent four days capturing the marvelous beauties in Zhangjiajie, and it is these photographs that later served as direct references for director James Cameron, helping create the otherworldly vistas of the film. 

After lunch, let’s take the park’s eco-shuttle to Yangjiajie Scenic Area. Here, towering stone pillars stand rigid and orderly like spears and halberds. More than mere rock formations, they resemble stone soldiers frozen in time, awaiting their general’s command. You will also see the 380-million-year-old Natural Great Wall. Amazingly, the appearance of these rock formations changes with your perspective: from one angle, they look like solid walls, while from another, they resemble distinct rows of mountain peaks. Continuing onward, we’ll arrive at Tianzi Mountain, where a variety of whimsical rock formations await: Flower Fairy Peaks, shaped like a maiden with her flower basket, and the Imperial Brush Peaks, reminiscent of ancient calligraphy tools. If the stone forest is the mountain’s skeleton, the sea of clouds is its soul. Mist often shrouds the pillars, and at times it cascades like a slow-motion waterfall from the ridges, adding an ever‑changing grace to the scene. 

At last, the cable car will facilitate you to descend the mountain, and your guide and the driver will escort you back to your hotel to recover from the day’s tiredness. 

► Free Time Suggestion: (at your own expense)
The 1.5-hour show ‘Charming Xiangxi’ is sure to brighten up your nightlife, featuring the local music, dance, and folk culture. The theater is located next to your hotel, a 3-minute walk north of the 5-star hotel, while an 8-minute walk south of the 4-star hotel across the Gaoyun Bridge. If you would like to watch the show, please contact our travel consultants or guide in advance to help you reserve a seat. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Rise and shine in the morning, and your guide and the driver will offer you a smooth ride to the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. Get ready to let the green fill your vision, the waterfall spray wet your shoulders, and the fresh air fill your lungs.

★ Test Your Mettle on Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge

Prepare for the thrilling experience of walking across the world’s highest glass bridge. As you step onto the 500‑meter-long (1,640‑foot) bridge and look down through its transparent floor, the flowing streams, soaring birds, and dense forests unfold below, while the 300‑meter (984‑foot) drop may leave your legs trembling. You might wonder whether such a massive structure disrupts the natural scenery. On the contrary, engineers prioritized the landscape by opting for a glass floor and a pillarless design, which allows the bridge to “vanish” into the mist of the canyon, ensuring this modern marvel stands in perfect harmony with nature.
► FYI: Finding more adrenaline-pumping experiences, you may descend into the canyon by zipline at your own expense.

To make full use of your 4-day valid Zhangjiajie National Park ticket, your guide and the driver will then accompany you to enter the park again for a hike along the pristine Golden Whip Stream, a vast natural oxygen bar. Along the trail, you may feel transported into a green wonderland where even the towering stone pillars are draped in thick vegetation. Breathe deeply to fill your lungs with the clean air and listen to the chorus of birdsong from the forest. Look up, and you’ll find that phoebe trees form a lush canopy overhead. Locals view this plant as a symbol of marital harmony, as its branches intertwine, much like close human relationships.
► Tips: 
1. The paths near the stream can be slippery, so please wear shoes with good grip. 
2. The full hike covers 7.2 km (4.5 miles) and takes 3-4 hours, but we can adjust the distance or pace based on your energy and interest.

At the end of the day, your guide and the driver will escort you to another hotel in downtown Zhangjiajie, which is convenient for your itinerary the next day. 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

On your final morning, your guide and the driver will accompany you to Tianmen Mountain, the highest peak in Zhangjiajie. To help you ascend with ease, we’ll arrange a round-trip cable car ride and transmountain escalators for you. Marvel at the mountain’s crown jewel, Tianmen Cave, aka Heaven’s Gate. As a rare high-altitude natural arch, it is covered by mist on foggy days and shimmers like a mirror in the sky when it is sunny. With a height of 131.5 meters (431 feet) and a width of 57 meters (187 feet), the opening is large enough for a Boeing 747 to pass through. The dramatic scale also makes it a mecca for extreme sports enthusiasts worldwide. In 1999, six international pilots successfully flew through the arch, setting a Guinness World Record. In 2007, the renowned French climber Alian Robert stunned the world by free-soloing the vertical cliffs flanking the arch. The multi-level transmountain escalator will save you time and energy while ascending to the summit, where you can stroll the cliffside Glass Skywalk for a pulse-pounding panoramic view and visit iconic sights like Yuhu Peak, Spiritual Spring Temple, and Tianmen Mountain Temple.

After descending, your guide and the driver will convoy you to the airport or high-speed rail station, concluding your 4 days private Zhangjiajie tour itinerary. Should you wish to explore more of China, such as Beijing, Xi’an or Guilin, we would be delighted to customize an itinerary for you.

► FYI: We recommend you book onward flights or trains departing after 7:00 PM to allow ample time for check‑in and boarding. If you prefer to depart the next day, please contact us to book another night’s hotel accommodation in Zhangjiajie at an additional fee.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch