Private Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Day Tour

Wulingyuan and the Forest Park

Wulingyuan is the small town that grew up around the East Gate of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, about 40 minutes by road from Zhangjiajie city and its airport. The park itself, opened in 1982 as China's first national forest park, is part of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, listed by UNESCO in 1992 for its forest of quartz-sandstone pillars, gorges and streams.

Staying in Wulingyuan is the smartest way to plan a Zhangjiajie trip: you reach the gate within minutes and start before the crowds. On this private tour our guide collects you from your hotel lobby, deals with the real-name tickets at the gate and guides you through the park's buses, elevator and cable car, so you never have to queue twice or guess which way to go.

Bailong Elevator

The Bailong Elevator rises about 326 metres up a sheer cliff, with the lower section in a shaft inside the rock and the upper section running in glass cabins on the outside. The ride takes under two minutes and saves a climb of several hours on foot. It is the highest outdoor sightseeing elevator of its kind in the world.

Stand by the glass for the second half of the ride, when the valley drops away and the pillars appear one after another. Our guide times your arrival to avoid the worst of the morning queues, and the ride up is included in your private tour. Families with small children appreciate that the elevator removes the hardest part of the day.

Yuanjiajie

Yuanjiajie is the heart of every private Zhangjiajie National Forest Park tour. Railed paths and terraces lead along the cliffs to the Pillar of the Southern Sky, the slender column crowned with pines that came to symbolise the floating-mountain pillars, and on to the Platform of Forgetfulness, where the pillars seem to stretch to the horizon. The First Bridge Under Heaven, a natural stone arch between two peaks, is crossed on foot.

Allow about two hours. Because this tour is private, you can wait for drifting mist to reveal a peak, take family photos without rush or skip a side path if legs are tired. Our guide tells the stories behind the names and points out the best angles for photos.

Tianzi Mountain and Dianjiang Terrace

A battery-powered park bus takes you to Tianzi Mountain, the highest area of the park at about 1,260 metres. It is known for four wonders: the sea of clouds, moonlight over the peaks, sun rays after rain and winter snow. Viewpoints look over the Imperial Brush Peaks, thin pillars standing together like brushes in a holder.

Dianjiang Terrace is the best place to look over the West Sea stone forest, a vast basin of pillars that often fills with cloud. Spend an hour or so strolling the summit paths. Is Tianzi Mountain worth visiting on a one-day trip? Yes: it gives the widest view in the whole park and pairs perfectly with Yuanjiajie.

Tianzi Mountain cable car

To finish, you ride the Tianzi Mountain cable car down to the valley, a journey of a few minutes in a glass-windowed cabin that glides past cliffs and rock towers close enough to see the pines growing on them. A short park bus ride then brings you to the exit, where our driver is waiting.

How long does a Zhangjiajie National Forest Park day trip take? This route takes about eight hours from pickup to drop-off, a comfortable full day that covers the park's three most famous areas. We drop you back at your hotel in time to rest before dinner, and our guide is happy to suggest what to see in Wulingyuan the next day.