HOW TO...ZHangjiajie DAY TRIP |
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.
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.