JIM HAMILL
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HOW  TO...ZHANGJIAJIE  DAY  TRIP

ZHANGJIAJIE
I’ll make this short and easy - stay at Zhangjiajie Bajie Youth Hostel in Zhangjiajie.  For 20Y you can get a ride in a shared shuttle with others staying at the hostel to the west entrance of the park - 45 minutes away.  You’ll arrive at the same time as tour groups but walk fast and you’ll be ahead of them on the trail.

I walked the Golden Whip trail to the Bailong Elevator - you could hike up the mountain it’s the same amount of time, maybe even quicker because the Bailong Elevator can have at least an hour wait in line.

I spent most of the time at the Western side of the park.  This is where Heaven’s Pillar / Hallelujah Pillar / Avatar Mountain is located.  I thought this side of the park was much better.  

After spending a few hours at this side of the park it’s a 30 minute bus ride to the eastern side of the park.  There’s a decent view at the top but you’d be hard pressed to spend more than an hour at the top.  I walked down instead of taking the cable car.  The walk down took about two hours.  I hopped on the “train” without paying then waited in another line to take the park bus back to the entrance.  I took Wulinyuan public bus 1 to the bus station then hopped on a minibus back to Zhangjiajie.  

It was very hazy when I went and one day was enough.  If it wasn’t hazy there’d possibly be a reason to stay an extra day and hope you can catch the Avatar peaks with an early AM mist / cloud but otherwise the park can easily be fit into one day.

The paths in the park are essentially “paved”.  I saw “hikers” in high heels.

There is limited food options in the park - mostly street food style food stalls but there is a McDonald’s on the top near the cable car area.
  • Lifetime Travels
    • Best Of... >
      • 2014 World Travels
      • Videos
    • Africa >
      • Egypt
      • Ethiopia
      • Kenya
      • Tanzania
    • Asia >
      • East Asia >
        • China
        • Hong Kong >
          • Essentials
          • Attractions >
            • HK Free
          • Coffee
          • Cooked Food Centre >
            • Best Cooked Food Centres
          • Culture
          • Dining
          • Districts
          • Expat and Colonialism
          • HK Skyline
          • Nature
        • Japan
        • Macau
        • South Korea
        • Taiwan
      • Indian Sub-Continent >
        • Bangladesh
        • India
        • Maldives
        • Nepal
        • Sri Lanka
      • Southeast Asia >
        • Brunei
        • Cambodia
        • Indonesia
        • Laos
        • Malaysia
        • Myanmar
        • Philippines
        • Singapore >
          • Singapore >
            • Singapore Layover
            • Central
            • Coffee
            • Dining
            • Hawker Centers
            • Kopitiam
            • Suburbicity
        • Thailand
    • Europe >
      • Balkans >
        • Bosnia and Herzegovina
        • Bulgaria
        • Croatia
        • Moldova
        • Montenegro
        • Romania
        • Serbia
      • Central Europe >
        • Austria
        • Germany
        • Czech Republic
        • Hungary
        • Slovakia
        • Slovenia
        • Switzerland
      • Eastern Europe >
        • Kazakhstan
        • Russia
        • Ukraine
      • Nordic >
        • Iceland
      • Western Europe >
        • Belgium
        • France
        • Ireland
        • Italy
        • Netherlands
        • Spain
        • United Kingdom
    • Middle East >
      • Israel
      • Jordan
      • Qatar
      • United Arab Emirates
    • North America >
      • Canada
      • Cuba >
        • Trinidad
        • Cuba Videos
        • Havana
        • Cienfuegos
      • Mexico
      • Panama
      • Puerto Rico
      • United States >
        • New England >
          • Connecticut
          • Maine
          • Massachusetts
          • New Hampshire
          • Rhode Island
          • Vermont
        • Mid-Atlantic >
          • Delaware
          • Maryland
          • New Jersey >
            • Morristown
          • New York >
            • Lake Placid
            • Westchester - LI
          • Pennsylvania >
            • Pittsburgh
            • The "T" >
              • Upper Susquehanna
              • Poconos
              • Lancaster County
          • Washington DC
        • South >
          • Alabama
          • Arkansas
          • Florida
          • Georgia
          • Kentucky
          • Louisiana
          • Mississippi
          • North Carolina >
            • Cameron Indoor
          • South Carolina
          • Tennessee
          • Virginia
          • West Virginia
        • Midwest >
          • Illinois
          • Indiana
          • Iowa
          • Michigan
          • Minnesota
          • Missouri
          • Ohio
          • Wisconsin
        • Central Plains >
          • Idaho
          • Kansas
          • Montana
          • Nebraska
          • North Dakota
          • South Dakota
          • Wyoming
        • Southwest >
          • Arizona >
            • Phoenix
          • Colorado
          • New Mexico
          • Oklahoma
          • Texas
          • Utah
        • West Coast >
          • Alaska
          • California
          • Hawaii
          • Nevada
          • Oregon
          • Washington
    • Oceania >
      • Australia
      • Fiji
      • New Zealand
    • South America >
      • Argentina
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
    • Useful Links >
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    • And Everything Else
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    • My Background
    • Site Navigation
    • Contact Me