Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon

Spontaneous trip

We were exhausted after yesterday's hike to the Tianmen Mountain and planned a chill day for today, to do some work on our laptops, go to a cafe, maybe take a nap. But when we woke up and saw that it was sunny outside, we had to go to the mountains. We where deciding where to go while having a hearty brunch (dim sums and gyoza dumplings). By the time we decided for The Grand Canyon it was already noon.

The bus dropped us off in front of the entrance.

A bus from Zhangjiajie to Grand Canyon

Our maps didn't show any public transport option from Zhangjiajie to the Grand Canyon. But based on forums we found out that there should exist a bus. We decided that the safest bet would be to pay a visit to the main bus station and see what we can find out. Right when we entered the station a lady called on us asking where we wanted to go. I quickly typed in the translator our destination and she rushed us outside while communicating with someone on her walkie-talkie. A bus was approaching us and we were told to jump in and pay 22 yuan per person with WeChat. Around an hour later, the bus driver yelled at us pointing at the door, so we got off.

Tickets

To our surprise, we ended up almost exactly where we wanted to. We tried to buy tickets, but it was a maze to find the ticket office. Firstly, we were directed towards a free shuttle bus which took us to the entrance of the Grand Canyon, then we had to queue up for security check, pass a pretty long hall, after which we entered into a ticket office. The basic ticket cost us 53 yuan for one person (in season ticket is 91 yuan pp). The ticket can also be purchased from official website, with WeChat, or, as always, with Trip.com. Student discount can be applied.

Hike down the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Finally, after a very chaotic beginning to our hike, we entered the Grand Canyon. A trip to the canyon can last between 1.5 hours to 4 hours, depending on which route one chooses and which activities and attractions adds. We chose the most basic route which didn't include any attractions and was basically just a walk through the canyon. It took us 3 hours.

A popular route includes the Glass Bridge, which is a suspension bridge with some of its parts made out of glass panels. It's also possible to slide down the grand canyon (instead of taking the stairs), take a sightseeing elevator up, climb a wall, do a zipline, take a boat on rainbow lake cruise down the river (one boat ride is included since it's the only way to the exit), or even via ferrata. You can make it as fun or as chill as you like!

Final thoughts

The most basic route that we took included a "hike" down the canyon (however I wouldn't call it a hike since we were walking down the stairs the whole time) towards the Rainbow Lake and a river. Some people were taking a boat ride down the river, however it seemed that the boat ride only lasts few minutes and there is boat ride already included at the end of the hike. We took a walk along the riverside, which was very easy and safe. We saw waterfalls and creeks, few caves, the biggest of which was the Bandit cave, and beautiful views up the canyon. We felt almost alone, since there were only two or three tour groups and few more individuals, which made the whole walk very peaceful and authentic.

I would very much recommend the Grand Canyon for a day trip, if you battle the chaotic transportation towards the site, you can make the trip as fun as possible - by including walk on the Glass bridge or a zipline - or as down-to-earth as you'd prefer, similar to what we did, and still have a nice time.