Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
4.5
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Zhangjiajie is in the northwestern part of Hunan Province in central China. The main draw is the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, including Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianzi Mountain and Suoxiyu Nature Reserve. Here, traveling through countless cloud-kissing mountains, clear streams and leafy trees, you may easily blend with nature around, thus enhancing your love unconsciously. Want to explore the Avatar mountains with camera? Join us now!
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Admission tickets
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₹17,246.87
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  • ShelleyCoolah
    Coolah, Australia3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    What a beautiful place to visit!
    Never did I imagine how moved I would be at visiting this beautiful place - Wow! So glad I got to experience it. Lots of different areas to explore. We enjoyed cable cars, little train, Elevators, many steps and walkways. Highly recommend.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 2 March 2024
  • Lee_family_219053
    Singapore, Singapore2,652 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Enjoying the splendor of Zhangjiajie
    Great place to visit, hike and explore. Rock formations, cruises down lakes, hikes, jostling with people, bus rides and must have lots of imagination to visualise the rocks formed by long term.wind erosion. Excellent place to visit. Visitors are generally friendly and helpful. But marred by very poor signage as after you enter the right track there are hardly any diatance markers nor artows pointing to the correct directions or worse no signs, totally diaappear leading to frustrating retracing climb back up many flights of steep and.narrow steps/slopes. In the bus, the recorded message in English do not make sense. There are hardly any park staff or office to seek help when we needed assistamce but only ro encounter rude and impatient workers manning the ticket machines pointing to directions and shouting at us, even when asking politely in Chinese. Since walking in the park is mostly 1-way, when we got to.the South gate and wanted to head back to the East gate we were surprised to be told there was no park bus doing that route but to exit the park and pay to use local transport to get there. Bad planning?
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 29 March 2024
  • Carlos Montanha
    Ermesinde, Portugal22 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Private guide 4 days in Zhangjiajie
    Unforgettable trip. Everything very well organized by Kelly +8613574407921, zjjtravelservice@163.com, nothing was wrong, every detail was thought of. We visited the best places, ate in local restaurants, took beautiful photos. All thanks to Sunny, our guide for 4 days. Avatar Mountain, Tianmen Mountain, glass bridge, cable car, very well organized work. Congratulations to everyone, you make an excellent team. I highly recommend this company for its proven performance. Thank you all.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 1 May 2024
  • ginomado
    Province of Palermo, Italy549 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Unique scenarios and deserved fame
    Fantastic scenery, with thousands of quartzarenite pinnacles topped by vegetation. The ticket - around 35 euros if I remember correctly, except for the cable cars - is valid for four days, but you can visit it comfortably in 2. Important turnout around the points reachable by bus (included in the price) and cable cars. Paths (mostly stairs... tiring, especially downhill for us) traveled in almost complete solitude. Unforgettable.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 1 May 2024
  • Vorname N
    3 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    wonderful landscape and views
    Wonderful landscape, beautiful views and well worth a visit. Keep in mind that there are many many tourists and you have to line up and wait severel times for min 30 minutes or more. Think about starting very early, when the park opens.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 24 May 2024
  • Florent H
    North Sulawesi, Indonesia203 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    An absolute blast!
    It's all on the title:). I won't write much here as everything has been pretty much said in the thousands of reviews. One thing maybe: this is a huge area, you won't cover it all in one full day. My advice plan 2 full days to do it. Furthermore the entrance tickets is valid for 4 days. Onsite there are cable cars and elevators. You can of course hike too. Definitely a must do if you are around.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 1 June 2024
  • JAZZZY
    Madurai, India1,840 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Simply amazing & scenic !! Best places to visit
    The Zhangjiajie national park is an amazing scenic place , definitely highly recommended for those who are looking for nature and adventure. We had been to the national park with our teen children , they enjoyed it . Walking along the edge of the mountain was truly awesome . Very scenic and highly recommended. We were lucky to have good weather during our trip/hike. Awesome !! Will come back again 😊
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 6 June 2024
  • Ragina R
    Melbourne, Australia10 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing Place!
    This place is truly breathtaking, as others have mentioned in their reviews. It's a paradise for nature lovers and adenture seekers. Despite the crowds, our tour company provided us with a skip -the -line experience, which was a lifesaver and made our experience 10 times better.I highly recomend visiting this place especially if you opt for the fast - track skip the line service. Definately worth the money1
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 7 June 2024
  • BigFamily78
    Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, France538 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Magnificent landscape!
    We did the visit over 2 half days because the place is huge. We did the visit with our guide. She knows the places perfectly, which allowed us to go to the coolest spots, avoiding the crowds in certain places. You can use the cable car, the chairlift, the elevator leaning against the mountain, the buses and the giant escalators while walking a lot and climbing a few steps too. The views are magnificent on these rocks which have the shapes of pencils or fingers, whether it is raining or sunny. Lots of very beautiful trees. The places inspired the computer-generated images that constitute the landscape of the film Avatar 1. For the record, James Cameron never set foot there.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 June 2024
  • Travelust11
    Kanpur, India97 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful but tricky to navigate for foreigners
    The views are BREATHTAKING. It truly is a natural marvel to visit. However it's spread over a very large area, with few signs, especially in English. We went with a guide and it was a great experience- for any non-Mandarin or Chinese dialect speakers- we recommend taking a local or a guide along. Others than that- absolutely fantastic if you love natural marvels
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 27 July 2024
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jing
Osimo, Italy5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 • Family
I highly recommend all the people who visit China to go to visit Zhangjiajie. Even though I have seen a lot of mountains in China and in Italy, Zhangjiajie still makes me so impressed when I saw it with my own eyes. I am a Chinese, I went there with my parents and my husband who is an italian. I highly suggest you NOT to visit Zhangjiajie in August, also the end of July, because the schools are closed, there are too many Chinese people visiting Zhangjiajie, which will cause you confusion and affect your traveling experience. But unfortunatelly, we visited there in August, so we had to get up at 4AM to avoid the line to enter. For the foreign tourists, I highly reccomend you to high a tour guide who can speak English to company you the trip. Becaue the national park is very big, there are several routes you can choose, to finish all the places in one day is not possible, the ticket is valid for 4 days, usually people spend 2 days there. The ticket is sold by "which gate to enter the first time". For example, if you choose the ticket first entrance from the East gate, which means that the first entrance you have to enter from East gate, so how you organize your trip is important. If you hire a tourst guide, better to make it clear at the beggining that "the tour is a pure visiting tuor, NOT accepting any shopping". Why? Because a lot of tour guide they seem to offer you a lower price to guide you in the park, but during the visit, they will try anything they can to let you buy stuffs so they can earn the commision, this is not a nice experience, so better make it clear at beggining and even pay a little more the guide fee. The park is all organized, you can not go wherever you want. The routine is designed well and you just need to follow the signs. There are buses to bring you from one site to another. Again, it is important to study and decide what is your visiting plan. The paths on the mountain are well made by stone, it is very safe. The entrance ticket is not included for the elevator and the cable car. I reccomend you can try with the cable car, it is quite exciting and thriling to take the cable car traveling in the air between the mountaints. If you have any question how to organize the tour, you can leave me a message, it needs another article to explain.
Written 19 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Renato & Cristina Faro
15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Couples
We would like to thank very much William, our tour guide in Zhangjiajie. The 3 days we spent together have been a wonderful time! William is a nice and caring person, very knoledged in history and very experienced in exploring all the secret places at The Zhangjiajie National Park, the Tianemen Mountain and the Grand Canyon. We did not feel that any of these places were crowded due to his splendid hability to avoid queues! 👏🏼 At Furong ancient town he has shown great history background and took us at the perfect time to the right restaurant just for us to enjoy the very best view of the sunset! We thank him for all dishes suggestions, all the effort make us feel welcome in this wonderful city and amazed by its natural beauties. We cannot give him less than 5 stars as guide in Zhangjiajie
Written 22 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ola Lily
Jarna, Sweden3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2025 • Business
A Breathtaking Escape to Zhangjiajie: A Traveler's Paradise

Zhangjiajie, a destination that seems plucked straight from the pages of a fantasy novel, recently became the backdrop of my most unforgettable travel adventure. As soon as I stepped foot in this natural wonderland, I was greeted by a landscape so otherworldly that it felt like I had entered a different realm.

Natural Wonders Beyond Imagination

The centerpiece of Zhangjiajie, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, is a sight to behold. Towering sandstone pillars, some reaching up to 400 meters in height, rise dramatically from the ground like a forest of stone giants. These pillars, topped with lush greenery, create a surreal and almost magical landscape. The moment I laid eyes on them, I was in awe of nature's craftsmanship. Taking a stroll along the well - maintained paths, I felt like a tiny speck in this vast expanse of natural beauty.

One of the highlights was the Avatar - Hallelujah Mountain. Fans of the movie "Avatar" will recognize this iconic pillar as the inspiration for the floating mountains in the film. Standing beneath it, looking up at its soaring height, I could truly understand why it was chosen as a source of inspiration. The play of light and shadow on the rock surfaces, especially during the golden hours of sunrise and sunset, added an extra layer of enchantment to the already - spectacular scenery.

Thrilling Adventures

For the adventure - seekers, Zhangjiajie offers an array of heart - pounding activities. I decided to take on the Bailong Elevator, the world's tallest outdoor glass elevator. The ride up the cliff face was both thrilling and breathtaking. In just over a minute, I was transported from the valley floor to the mountaintop, with panoramic views of the surrounding pillars and forests unfolding at every second.

Another unforgettable experience was hiking along the Tianmen Mountain Glass Path. Suspended high above the ground, the transparent glass walkway tested my nerves but rewarded me with unrivaled views of the deep valleys below. The feeling of walking on air, with nothing but a thin layer of glass separating me from the abyss, was both terrifying and exhilarating.

Local Culture and Hospitality

Beyond its natural attractions, Zhangjiajie also has a rich cultural heritage. The local Tujia people, with their unique traditions and customs, added a warm and human touch to my journey. I visited a traditional Tujia village, where I was greeted with warm smiles and friendly welcomes. I learned about their ancient handicrafts, such as embroidery and wood - carving, and watched traditional dance performances that told stories of their long - standing history.

The local cuisine was also a delight. Dishes like smoked bacon, pickled vegetables, and local river fish were bursting with flavor. Each meal was a culinary adventure, introducing me to new tastes and textures that were deeply rooted in the region's agricultural and fishing traditions.
Written 23 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Amanda Z
Sao Paulo, SP20 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Family
Well, my second day in Zhangjijie, now i understand how things works here 😅 It wasnt easy for me to find this informarion before heading here so im sharing with you.
You definetly should stay a night in Zhangjiajie downtown in order to take a day tour in Tianmen Mountain (Heavens Gate place and much more up in the Mountain). Thats because the cable car or the bus up departs from Zhangjiajie downtown area. After that (or before, the order depends on you) you can spend some days staying in Wulingyuan center area (around 40km from downton Zhangjiajie). In that way u gonna be much closer to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park (Avatar Mountains) and to the Grand Canyon (Glass Bridge).
I ended up staying just in downtown area because of lack of information. Spend around 200Y each Didi trip to Wulingyuan area. Hotels in downtown are cheapear but further from Wulingyuan (Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and Grand Canyon/Glass Bridge), thats something you should consider.

Said that, considering the National Park now. I didnt have any tour guide until i head here. Found a guide at the same morning i wanted to do this atraction. There are plenty of travel agencies in Zhangjiajie downtown making it easy to find someone to take you. I went with a Chinese guide wich it wasnt so nice cause i dont speak chinese but i didnt want to get lost of waste to much time inside the park trying to find myself, so it was helpful in that way. The travel agency charged my 300Y for the guide + 400Y for the transportation (2 ways round trip from Downtown to the park )+ ticket entrance + the cable cars + bailong elevator (must go, because of the exist stunning view)). The tour departed at 9am and at 17pm we were back. We did saw the most famous atractions in the park and its stunning even on winter time. Since is low season, theres NO line for anything, making it much easy (for what i read about the warmer seasons). The park is well signilized but still im sure i wouldnt have seen that much thing i saw with the guide if i went by myself. So for me, it was fair money. The ticket park allows you a 4 days visist. JUST GO ❤️
Written 24 December 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mosto
Hong Kong, China4,345 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Couples
Your ticket to the National Forest Park is good for 4 days and I suggest you spend at least 2 days there and more if you have enough days in Zhangjiajie. Zhangjiajie National Park has 5 entrances, but two are commonly used:
Wulingyuan entrance (east gate) – located in Wulingyuan town leading you to the popular Bailong elevator experience and Avatar experience and the South Gate which covers the Ten Mike Gallery and Golden Whip Stream hike amongst other beautiful hikes. There is less crowd in the Siuth Gate entrance and I find the scenery and hikes there more peaceful and just as magnificent in the. East gate. I suggest you get a local guide from your hotel concierge as they help to navigate the way and save a lot of time. They only cost RMB 300 through the hotel concierge - understand they cost less if you can get direct. The hotel concierge helped us buy our tickets in advance.
Written 2 December 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

1sabellayap
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Friends
Went during the latter part of National Holiday and was pleasantly surprised that there weren't that many people at all! Leading up to the trip we were being warned by people already that we might not be able to fully enjoy because of the sheer amount of people (think 人山人海) but when we got there it wasn't crowded at all! The National Park is beautiful but it's so big it can be overwhelming at times. There are free shuttles that can take you to different parts of the park which are very easy to find and run pretty regularly, we probably waited a maximum of 10 minutes for a shuttle. We entered through the east gate and took a (free) shuttle to the 10-mile gallery then took another shuttle to yuanjiajie. Ended the day at Tianzi mountain where we took a cable car down then another shuttle back to the east gate. We were able to see everything we wanted to in 1-day! As foreigners, we were worried tickets would sell out due to National Holiday but Kelly (zjjkelly on WeChat) helped us book all our tickets and suggested which routes in the National park to take.

Highly recommend the national park and kelly's services!
Written 9 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

BenQ1979
Mol, Belgium8 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
Without a doubt one of the most beautiful natural phenomena I have ever seen! But be aware that this park is also used as one of the largest tourist traps I have ever seen.

We had booked a 2-day tour and everything seemed to go smoothly. We drove into the park and, accompanied by a very noisy guide, we visited all the highlights of the Avatar tour. At the end of the first day, however, it became clear to us that there was much more going on than just the visit to the park... During the return drive, the guide started to show us day 2 and where we were going and that it was super important that we spent as much money there as possible, otherwise she would not earn anything from this trip and we might have problems with the local residents...

So day 2… So we did not drive to the park but to a remote hall where they sold all types of jade jewelry. To be honest, the hall was impressively constructed and everything was very professional, but you soon got the feeling that this was one big scam. After this stay (about 3 hours) we were taken to a market again and then drove back to the park after lunch... FYI, this was not only set up by our organization but by a large number of organizations. I estimate that there were about 100 buses parked at the hall/makt...

Bottom line, the park is great, but don't be talked into taking a guided tour, also check the weather forecast carefully (it can be very foggy with limited visibility) and don't go on weekends/public holidays, then there will be a lot too busy!
Google
Written 6 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ian Anderson
Shanghai, China158 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
A must-see if you live in China! The iconic scenery is spectacular, possibly unique in terms of the scale. But make sure to avoid the holidays (we didn't!), although you can still get away from the crowds. Make sure to take at least two cable car rides, e.g. Tianzi Mountain, Yangjiajie. Best area is Huangshi Village as much quieter than more recently developed Yuanjiajie just to the North but with just as good views in my opinion. The "Jianbinshi"walk along the gorge river is idyllic. Avoid Shilihualan! And don't miss the ZJJ Grand Canyon (glass birdge etc) and Yellow Dragon Caves, both outside but quite close to the main Wuluyuan Scenic Area. The main park is - my view - struggling to cope with the mass tourism it attracts, which takes the edge off the visit but not too much. If you are foreign/don't speak Chinese, it may be worth hiring a guide to get the best out of your visit. It's quite confusing. You can buy a Wuluyuan Scenic Area entranc ticket (any gate) which lasts four days but they must be consecutive. This does NOT cover Grand Canyon/Yellow Dragon Cave
Written 6 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sara A
105 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2024 • Friends
The national park is a piece of natural beauty. It certainly leaves you awestruck.
Tickets are valid for 4 days which means you can visit unlimited times during the validity. However, attractions like bailong elevator, cable cars are all paid separately unless purchased with the unlimited access package.
the park has signboard in English, bus stations are well marked and there are maps too. We did our study and were able to easily navigate without the need of a guide. It took us an entire day to cover the main sites and we totally loved our experience. The avatar mountains, bailong elevator, tianzi mountain, cableways are all fantastic and amazing.
Written 29 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gerado Clausell Cabtavella
Armacao dos Buzios, RJ25 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Business
I recently explored Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China, and it left me awestruck. This stunning park inspired the fictional Hallelujah Mountains in Avatar.

*Highlights*

1. *Unique Sandstone Pillars*: Towering, intricately carved formations.
2. *Diverse Wildlife*: Rich biodiversity, including monkeys and rare bird species.
3. *Panoramic Views*: Breathtaking vistas from various observation decks.
4. *Rich Cultural Heritage*: Intriguing Tujia and Miao minority influences.
5. *Well-Maintained Trails*: Clean, well-marked paths for hiking.

*Areas for Improvement*

1. *Overcrowding*: Peak season crowds detract from the experience.
2. *Commercialization*: Aggressive vendors and pricey amenities.
3. *Limited English Signage*: Navigation challenges for non-Chinese speakers.

*Verdict*

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a natural marvel, but crowds and commercialization slightly mar the experience. Still, its uniqueness and beauty make it unforgettable.

*Recommended for*

1. Nature enthusiasts
2. Hikers
3. Photographers
4. Adventure seekers
5. Cultural explorers

*Tips*

1. Visit during off-peak seasons.
2. Hire a guide for optimal navigation.
3. Pack comfortable hiking shoes.
4. Respect local environment and wildlife.
Written 7 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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ZHANGJIAJIE NATIONAL FOREST PARK (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

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