This morning, your tour guide will meet you in the lobby of your self-booked hotel at the pre-planned time, around 7:00 to 8:00, and then accompany you on a short ride to Tianmen Mountain, honored as the very soul of Zhangjiajie.

► Notes:

1. Rest assured that the specific pick-up time will be confirmed by the guide with you one day in advance via phone, email, or the hotel reception. And our pick-up service is available from hotels near the East Gate of Zhangjiajie Forest Park in Wulingyuan District and also in downtown Zhangjiajie.

2. As one of the most popular tourist cities in China, Zhangjiajie can be very crowded during the peak seasons, especially during Chinese holidays. We would be remiss if we didn’t remind you of the possibility of long queues at entrances, shuttle buses between spots, cable cars, and elevators in all scenic areas. Besides, you may need to stand on the shuttle buses of the park if there are no seats available. Thank you for your understanding.

Feel free to contact us whenever you have any questions about the itinerary.

Upon arrival, take the round-trip cable car to take in its most iconic sight, the Tianmen Cave, which seems like a mysterious portal to the immortal realm carved by nature halfway up the mountain, bringing you an overwhelming visual impact and a spiritual shock. Especially in the early morning on a sunny day after rain, when the clouds and mist swirl in this giant natural cave, you can’t help but have infinite reveries to the wonderland behind. On its right side, you’ll find a grotesque stone pillar, whose shape resembles an old man standing tall and straight against the sheer cliff, and legend has it that it was incarnated by Guiguzi, a famous strategist from the 4th century BC who once practiced Taoism here, to protect the divine cave from being invaded by evil spirits. Thanks to the 12-level escalator, you can also shuttle between the cableway station and the mountaintop effortlessly. At the summit, when walking along the Fairland Corridor, which is also romantically called ‘Lover Bridge’ as sightseers often make love vows here. Watching the mountains on both sides looming in the sea of clouds, you’ll feel yourself gradually sinking into the embrace of nature. Expect something more thrilling? Get your adrenaline pumping on the Glass Skywalk (shoe covers included), which is like a transparent ribbon hanging on a cliff as high as a 400-story building.

In the afternoon, let’s make our way to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. With its undulating peaks, gurgling streams, and dense vegetation, it is a natural oxygen bar gifted by nature to wayfarers from all over the world. With your guide, head straight for the most celebrated Glass Bridge, the longest and highest one in the world that spans across the canyon. The deck is composed of 99 pieces of tempered glass, each of which is thick enough to support an astonishing 800 people at a time. Standing on the 300-meter-high (984-feet-high) transparent bridge, with a chasm that seems to have been cut by an axe beneath your feet, and only the howling mountain wind and the accelerating heartbeat in your ears, you’ll feel as if you have traveled into a scene from a science fiction movie. Looking down through the glass, the quartz sandstone layers formed 1.2 billion years ago will present golden wavy textures under the refraction of sunlight, which are the real traces of the Earth's ‘breathing’. Further down, there is a surge of green, the canopies of the soaring leafy trees, gently swaying in the wind. How pleasant the view is! After stepping off the bridge, we will escort you back to the hotel. Have a good rest!

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up at your hotel for a full-day adventure to the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, a World Natural Heritage Site listed by UNESCO for its unique karst landforms. Featuring 3,000 peculiar peaks rising from the ground and 800 beautiful rivers meandering through them, this magical land is like a three-dimensional Chinese ink painting, providing a feast for your eyes.

In the park, let’s tour the Tianzi Mountain by cable car. The mountain is named in honor of Xiang Dakun, a local hero who once led uprisings here to seek the well-being of the people, and you’ll immediately understand why it enjoys the reputation of the 'King of Peak Forests'. Every peak is like a work of art carefully crafted by nature, vivid without any repetition or artificiality - some of them are like swords pointing straight to the sky, some like giants guarding the surroundings, and some like fairies dancing gracefully. If only one sight could be chosen to represent Tianzi Mountain, it would undoubtedly be Imperial Brush Peaks. Five slender stone pillars, with pine trees covering the top, are faintly visible in the misty clouds, resembling the upturned writing brushes of Xiang after reviewing memorials, making you feel as if a few lines of celestial script might fall from the sky at any moment. Continue our visit by eco-bus of the scenic area to Yangjiajie Scenic Area, where there is a stunning Natural Great Wall waiting for you to decode its geological code that has lasted for billions of years. Dozens of parallel and uneven quartz sandstone peak walls stand like giant dragons coiled around, and have been amazed by UNESCO experts as the greatest new discovery of Zhangjiajie's landform.

Lunch is not included. You can find some locally flavored stalls and restaurants on the mountain in the park, but actually we don't recommend that you try any of them, as the food prices are slightly higher than usual and its spicy, salty, and greasy taste is even not what some Chinese visitors are used to. If needed, try the McDonald’s on Tianzi Mountain if there's no long queue. It is most recommended that you enjoy a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel and carry some energy-boosting snacks with you.

Are you ready to enter the real world of Pandora in the world-renowned sci-fi blockbuster ‘Avatar’? We’ll sure visit the iconic Yuanjiajie Scenic Area. Marvel at the outstanding 150-meter-high (492-feet-high) Qiankun Pillar, later renamed Hallelujah Mountain, which seems to float in the air when shrouded in clouds, echoing the image in ‘Avatar’. Moreover, witness the No. 1 Natural Bridge under Heaven, a naturally formed stone arch bridge suspended between two imposing peaks. It is said to be a place where immortals travel, and thus it is also known as ‘the Bridge to Heaven’. Stand on the Enchanting Platform with the best view and enjoy the fantastic panoramic view of Yuanjiajie as well. We won’t let you miss the Bailong Elevator, a great engineering wonder that not only helps you save energy when climbing up and down but also enhances your experience. Attached to a vertical cliff, the world’s fastest, highest, and largest passenger capacity double-decker sightseeing elevator will allow you to experience the thrill of speed while admiring the magnificent sights like the ‘Divine Soldiers Party’ made of 48 isolated stone pillars outside the window during a blazing 88-second run.

So far, your 2 days budget mini group Zhangjiajie tour has come to an end, and your guide will escort you back to your hotel. Hope you had a satisfying trip with us. Enrich your travel plan by checking out more of our budget tours to destinations across China, or simply consult our travel experts for ideas.