Five days

Main Attractions: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Yuanjiajie, Hallelujah Mountain, Mihun Platform, No.1 Bridge Under Heaven, Tianzi Mountain, Xihai Stone Forest, Imperial Brush Peak, Golden Whip Stream, Ten-Mile Gallery, Tianmen Mountain, Tianmen Cave, glass plank road, Furong Ancient Town, Fenghuang Ancient Town, Tuo River, Xiangxi Miao Village

Route Highlights

Five days through the stone forests and river towns of western Hunan. Two days are given to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park: the Avatar peaks of Yuanjiajie, the sea of pillars at Tianzi Mountain and the long, quiet water of Golden Whip Stream, with no more than two core sights on any day. The route then climbs Tianmen Mountain by its 7,455-metre cableway, pauses at Furong Ancient Town built around a waterfall, and ends with an evening and a morning in Fenghuang, the stilted-house town on the Tuo River. A small group of two to ten travels with a licensed English-speaking guide, four hotel breakfasts and 24-hour transfers in Zhangjiajie.

• Two separate days inside Zhangjiajie National Forest Park for the full peak forest
• No more than two core sights a day, with time to walk rather than rush
• A licensed English-speaking guide for a small group of two to ten travellers
• The 7,455-metre Tianmen Mountain cableway and a night in lantern-lit Fenghuang

Itinerary Overview (5 Days)

Day	Attractions	Overnight
Day 1	24-hour station or airport transfer, hotel check-in, Hourong Street, Seventy-Two Wonders Tower, Lishui Riverbank	Zhangjiajie
Day 2	Zhangjiajie National Forest Park eco-bus, Yuanjiajie, Hallelujah Mountain, Mihun Platform, No.1 Bridge Under Heaven, Tianzi Mountain, Xihai Stone Forest, Imperial Brush Peak, He Long Park	Zhangjiajie / Wulingyuan
Day 3	Golden Whip Stream, Ten-Mile Gallery, rock formations, Ten-Mile Gallery miniature train, Wulingyuan valley	Zhangjiajie / Wulingyuan
Day 4	Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park, 7,455-metre cableway, Yunmeng Fairy Peak, glass plank road, Tianmen Cave, Furong Ancient Town, Wangcun Waterfall, Fenghuang Ancient Town	Fenghuang Ancient Town
Day 5	Fenghuang Ancient Town, Tuo River, Hongqiao Wind and Rain Bridge, stilted houses, Xiangxi Miao Village, Ganzi Battalion barracks, beacon towers, return transfer to Zhangjiajie	–

Detailed Daily Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Zhangjiajie

Travellers reach Zhangjiajie by air or high-speed rail, where a driver meets each arrival at any hour and takes you straight to the hotel. No sightseeing is scheduled on day one, so long-haul guests can rest after the journey. If you arrive with time to spare, an independent evening on Hourong Street is the easiest introduction to local snacks, or take a walk to the illuminated Seventy-Two Wonders Tower and along the Lishui River for a first taste of western Hunan.

Meals: on your own. Overnight: Zhangjiajie.

Day 2: Yuanjiajie and Tianzi Mountain

After breakfast, take the park eco-bus into Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the first national forest park in China and a World Natural Heritage and World Geopark site. Spend around an hour and a half in Yuanjiajie, the landscape that inspired the floating Hallelujah Mountains of Avatar, walking Mihun Platform and the natural stone arch known as the No.1 Bridge Under Heaven. The eco-bus continues to Tianzi Mountain, the King of Peak Forests, for the Xihai Stone Forest, Imperial Brush Peak and He Long Park with its large bronze statue. Mountain entry and exit are timed to avoid the longest queues, and the lift or cableway used is assigned on the day according to conditions on the mountain. Inside the park, free eco-buses connect the viewpoints and are shared with other visitors, so the guide sets a clear meeting point at every stop.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: Zhangjiajie / Wulingyuan.

Day 3: Golden Whip Stream and the Ten-Mile Gallery

A slower day down in the valley. Walk the classic section of Golden Whip Stream for about two hours, a clear spring-fed stream running between fir woods and quartzite peaks, with a new view at every bend of the path. Continue to the Ten-Mile Gallery, where nearly two hundred rock formations have been read for centuries as people, birds and animals; a miniature train runs the length of the valley for anyone who would rather ride than walk. The afternoon stays unhurried, with time back at the hotel before the ascent the next morning.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: Zhangjiajie / Wulingyuan.

Day 4: Tianmen Mountain, Furong Town and Fenghuang by Night

After breakfast, take the 7,455-metre alpine cableway up Tianmen Mountain, one of the longest passenger cableways of its kind in the world, climbing to 1,279 metres. From Yunmeng Fairy Peak the whole of Zhangjiajie opens out below; walk the cliff-hanging glass plank road and look up at Tianmen Cave, the natural arch that gives the mountain its name. A two-hour coach ride then reaches Furong Ancient Town, a two-thousand-year-old settlement built around a waterfall, with bluestone lanes, a memorial archway and the Wangcun cascades. Continue to Fenghuang Ancient Town in the afternoon. The evening is free for dinner on your own and a slow walk along the Tuo River, when the stilted houses, the Hongqiao Wind and Rain Bridge and the old streets are lit by lanterns.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: Fenghuang Ancient Town.

Day 5: Fenghuang, a Miao Village and the Journey Home

Begin with at least two unhurried hours in Fenghuang, the border town Rewi Alley called one of the most beautiful in China. Walk the red-stone streets, follow the Tuo River past the stilted houses, and take in the old city walls, gate towers and rainbow bridge in the soft morning light. Then drive into the hills to a Xiangxi Miao Village, where antiphonal singing, a welcome cup of rice wine and the drum greeting open the visit; the old Ganzi Battalion barracks and beacon towers tell the story of the Miao communities of western Hunan. The coach returns to Zhangjiajie for the onward flight or train, so an evening departure is the comfortable choice.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: -.

What’s Included

• Four nights at selected hotels in Zhangjiajie city, the Wulingyuan scenic area and Fenghuang Ancient Town
• Four breakfasts at the hotel
• First-entry tickets to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Tianmen Mountain, Furong Ancient Town and Xiangxi Miao Village
• The Tianmen Mountain cableway or park shuttle as assigned by the daily reservation, plus the forest park eco-bus network
• A 14- or 18-seat coach with one seat per traveller, sized to the final group
• A nationally licensed English-speaking guide for all five days, with 24-hour station and airport transfers in Zhangjiajie

Good to Know

• A small group of two to ten travellers; the coach is shared within the group and the vehicle size follows the final headcount.
• Tianmen Mountain uses real-name timed tickets with three equivalent routes (A, B and C); the scenic area allocates the route and time slot, which cannot be chosen in peak season.
• Mountain lifts and cableways are assigned by on-the-day queue conditions; inside the national park, eco-buses are shared with other visitors.
• Bring valid photo ID for every traveller; it is needed for timed ticket reservations and hotel check-in. Long forest walks call for flat shoes, a rain layer and a warm layer for the mountain temperature swing, and a safe distance from the wild macaques.
• Lunch and dinner are independent each day; your guide can recommend local restaurants. Hotel air conditioning and hot water in the scenic area run on an evening schedule, and many Hunan hotels no longer provide disposable toiletries.
• Sightseeing order may change with weather, queues and ticket availability, without reducing the sights included.