This morning, your private guide and driver will be waiting for you punctually at the appointed time in the lobby of the hotel you booked yourself in downtown Zhangjiajie or near the East Gate of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Wulingyuan District. If you need a hotel reservation service, we can also provide it for you. Once you meet, the guide will offer you the warmest greetings and accompany you to set off for the wonderland-like Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, where you will enjoy a refreshing visual feast on the myriad karst peaks of various shapes.

★ Our Privileges: All-inclusive Tickets

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is very popular, especially during holidays, when there might be long queues for tickets. Book with us, and you can avoid the waste of time in the ticket line to enjoy fast entry and more time for sightseeing. Unlike some travel agencies that only offer simple entrance tickets, we will provide you with a combo ticket to elevate your experience by time-saving vehicles like elevator, sightseeing train, shuttle bus, and cableway service among different areas inside.

Upon arrival, your guide will first escort you to take the Bailong Elevator, the world’s tallest and fastest outdoor sightseeing lift listed in the Guinness World Records. With a height of 326 meters (1,070 feet) and a running speed of 5 meters (16 feet) per second, it will lift you to the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area on the mountaintop in just over a minute. As it climbs, you can see through the glass one of Zhangjiajie’s most spectacular sights, the Divine Soldiers Party. Coming out of the elevator, let’s take a 10-minute walk along the touring route to a renowned landmark standing solitarily, the Hallelujah Mountain, aka Qiankun Pillar, the shooting location of the science fiction movie ‘Avatar’ and the place where Zhangjiajie has won international fame. Besides it, during the 2.5-hour hike, you’ll also be constantly mesmerized by other natural wonders like the Back Garden, Enchanting Platform, and No. 1 Bridge under Heaven.

Lunch is not included. You can have a full meal in the morning in your hotel and carry some easily portable snacks like bread, biscuits, or sandwiches with you to regain your energy. There are fast-food chains including Dicos in Yuanjiajie and McDonald's on Tianzi Mountain of the park, and you can have a simple meal if the queues are short there.

After that, let’s take a shuttle bus of the park to Yangjiajie Scenic Area, which is a hidden gem for nature lovers with its rare peak wall landscape. Dozens of stone peaks, as if cut by a knife or chiseled by an axe, stand side by side, stretching for miles to form the magnificent Natural Great Wall. Its rich colors and textures also tell you the story of geological changes over billions of years. Then, take the shuttle bus to another height on Tianzi Mountain. Here the stunning odd-shaped peaks soar into the clouds, like natural stone sculptures forest. Looking into the valleys, your sight might be attracted by a row of jagged protrusions, thin on top and thick on bottom, shaped like upside-down writing brushes; that is the famous Imperial Brush Peaks, one of the top ten attractions of the park. Next, take a cable car down the mountain and continue the journey to the Ten-mile Gallery. Take a sightseeing train to go back and forth in 30 minutes to enjoy its picturesque scenery. Afterward, let’s end today’s fulfilling tour and get back to the hotel accompanied by your guide and driver for a rejuvenating rest.

► Dinner Suggestion (at your own expense):

Consider trying Zhangjiajie’s most representative specialties, the Tujia Stewpot, a kind of dry pot dish made from several meat and vegetables like pork, chicken, bean curd, and potatoes. It is said that this mixed delicacy was invented so that before a military expedition before the New Year, soldiers could enjoy a sumptuous feast without delaying state affairs. A meal at a local restaurant costs about CNY 60 - 70 (USD 8 - 10) per person. Please note that the local dishes are quite spicy, salty and greasy, and you’d better ask the waiter for a lighter flavor.

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel to the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, which boasts rich natural scenery with deep canyons, dense waterfalls, and large caves. Whether you are an adventurer looking for excitement or a traveler who prefers tranquility, there is something for you. We come here mainly for the world-famous Glass Bridge that hangs like a giant dragon above the canyons. Standing on it, with the bottomless abyss at your feet, you can enjoy both an adrenaline rush and a panoramic view of the canyon. The Bridge has not only a fully transparent glass section in the middle but also opaque areas on both sides, providing a thoughtful design for those who are afraid of heights but pursue high-altitude breathtaking views. Descend to the bottom of the Canyon by elevator, and traverse along the narrow plank road while marveling at the geomorphic wonders. Finally, relax on a cruise through the green Shenquan Lake while listening to the sound of the flowing water and feeling the gentle breeze. How refreshing it is!

In the afternoon, let’s enter the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park once again, and take the cable car up to the another core scenic spot inside, the Yellow Stone Stronghold, which maintains the original natural style surrounded by sheer cliffs, and is rated as the best and largest ‘aerial viewing platform’ to overlook thousands of undulating quartz sandstone peaks in the park. As you stroll on it, you may also have the chance to see wild macaques swinging on the trees or red-bellied pheasants shuttling among the bushes.

After descending the mountain by cable car, take an exciting hike along the Golden Whip Stream, which flows through one of the world’s most beautiful valleys and is also a shooting site of the famous Chinese novel and TV series Journey to the West. Along the way, you will be accompanied by the cliffs and peaks covered by lush vegetation on both sides, the clear water with small fish swimming in, the colorful flowers by the stream, as well as birds singing. After the visit, the guide and driver will convoy you to your hotel.

Today, enjoy a private ride with your guide and driver from your hotel to Tianmen Mountain, which is revered as a sacred mountain, as there were many hermits who practiced occult arts and cultivated their minds here in ancient times. With your guide, take the time-saving and effortless cable car up to first admire the most iconic Tianmen Cave (Heaven's Gate), which will bring you a stunning visual impact of clouds and mist rolling over the cave. Amazingly, on the cave’s left cliff, a torrent was said to surge down during the dry season every dozen years, each time lasting only about ten minutes to an hour. However, the source of water and why this unpredictable phenomenon occurs remain an unsolved mystery to this day. Moreover, expect a round trip on the 7-level transmountain escalator between the Cave and the mountaintop. When touring at the summit, you can also experience the Glass Skywalk clinging to the edge of the cliff. Ambling on this transparent path that makes you feel as if your feet have missed the ground. Surrounded by fairyland-like mountains, you’ll get a complex emotion of half fear and half shock. At the end of the visit, let’s go to Tianmen Square and, depending on the tourist flow on the day, either head directly to the Upper Station of Tianmen Cave Express Cableway to descend the mountain, or take a 20-minute shuttle bus of the scenic area through famous Tongtian Avenue with 99 bends to connect to the downhill cableway. 

Afterward, make our way to the 72 Tujia Stilted Buildings, aka 72 Qilou, which is the highest ethnic architectural groups in the world and has been successfully listed in the Guinness World Records. Walking inside, the outstanding brackets and angled cornices of each stilt house, the exquisite wooden carvings on windows, and the ancient bluestone paths all showcase the history and wisdom of the Tujia ethnic group. Also, a ‘symphony’ of various Chinese flavors will be on show here, including cured meat, tender lamb/beef kebabs, spicy roasted duck, and hand-pulled noodles.

Farewell to your 3 days Zhangjiajie tour here and now. Your guide and driver will then escort you to your hotel or, if required, to the airport or train station. It’s better to schedule your flight or high-speed train after 19:00 if you’re departing today. Thank you for travelling with us! 

► FYI: After 16:30, there will gradually be more fun activities in the 72 Qilou scenic area, such as diverse ethnic cultural performances presented by local Tujia youngsters, wonderful theme lighting shows, and even a bonfire party featuring traditional hand-swaying dance. If you have no other plan on the tour day, you can stay on your own till nightfall to immerse yourself in the wanton spree, and then take a taxi back to your hotel by yourself.

Have more days to seek travel joys? Feel free to contact us to customize your itinerary, such as adding Furong Ancient Town and Fenghuang Ancient Town for a more in-depth private Zhangjiajie tour, or even extending to Guilin by convenient high-speed train to witness more Chinese natural wonders.