Mountains in Zhangjiajie National Park were an inspiration for the environment in the Avatar franchise. They look otherworldly!
We took a bus from Zhangjiajie to Wulingyuan, only about 40 minute ride, and arrived before lunch. I was feeling a bit under weather, maybe even getting sick, and wasn't up for a long hike, so we chose a shorter, easier route on the map, something that should've taken less than 3 hours. But how wrong were we!
The actual hiking part was around three hours, but two of those hours consisted of walking up the stairs! But before we got to that part, we started at the Ticket station, where we purchased 4-day entrance ticket to the whole park (234 yuan per person). We were directed towards a bus that took us to the Intersection of Ten-mile Natural gallery.
Ten-Mile Natural Gallery
There was an option to take a sightseeing mini-train along the gallery, but we wanted to walk it and experience it more authentically. The Ten-mile Natural Gallery is a passage through the nature, where you walk through the forest and can see monkeys jumping around you. Everyone kept recommending not to open our bags or carry food, because even though the monkeys seem cute, they can become aggressive and steal your snacks.
Views from the Ten-Mile Natural Gallery
Do not feed the monkey!
We walked through few flights of stairs and I was getting out of breath, expecting a raw mountain climb or a hike through the forest, something easier. The hike upwards consisted of hundreds of stairs along the mountain and took us more than 2 hours (of what felt like an intense exercise) to get to the top. But, as always, when stepping on the viewing platform, I was glad and excited to be there, as we were rewarded by the most amazing views!
Mountain Top views
Two hours of hiking up the stairs
From the top, we headed towards Southern Heavenly Gate which, in the end, brought us to a bus stop. The decline was much easier and also very scenic. The whole way is either paved or consists of flights of stairs, hence the "hike" was more of a walk. Along the way we passed through the Heavenly Gate, enjoyed views on few bridges and nature. Overall, very intense hike at the beginning ended in a very peaceful walk in the end.
Some of the stairs were very slippery.
Heavenly Gate
The next couple of days I wasn't feeling the best, so I skipped on the adventures to recover. I was really glad to have experienced at least the first hike and some magical views. However, the biggest "attraction" in the Zhangjiajie National Park is the Hallelujah Mountain, especially after rain, when the clouds are low, as it looks like it's floating, just like in Avatar!
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