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Zhangjiajie

The floating mountains that inspired Avatar - a surreal forest of thousands of towering sandstone pillars rising from misty green valleys, linked by cliff walkways and a glass bridge, a UNESCO landscape.

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Illustrative image - a scene in the spirit of the place, not a photograph of it. Real photos are below.

UNESCO World Heritage

Typemountain

WhereHunan

Nearest cityZhangjiajie

Best seasonApril to June and September to November

Time to allowTwo to three days

Getting thereIn the interior; flights to Zhangjiajie, then park shuttles

EntryCharged; multi-day park pass

Real photos (1)

Zhangjiajie, part of the UNESCO Wulingyuan area, is one of the most surreal landscapes on earth, a vast forest of thousands of towering, sheer sandstone pillars, some hundreds of metres high, rising from deep, misty green valleys. Their otherworldly forms famously helped inspire the floating Hallelujah Mountains of the film Avatar, and they are explored by cliff-edge walkways, cable cars, a glass-bottomed bridge and the world's tallest outdoor lift.

What you actually see

The sandstone pillars - the thousands of towering peaks in the mist.
The Avatar connection - the pillars that inspired the film's floating mountains.
The glass bridge - the glass-bottomed bridge over the Grand Canyon.
The Bailong elevator - the world's tallest outdoor glass lift up the cliff.

When to go

Spring and autumn for the mildest weather and the atmospheric mist that drifts among the pillars; summer is hot and crowded, winter cold but sometimes beautifully snow-dusted. The famous mist that makes it magical is more common in the cooler, wetter seasons.

Honest expectations

It is a large park needing a couple of days and a lot of walking, shuttles and cable cars, and it is extremely popular with domestic tourists, so it gets very crowded. The mist that gives it magic can also hide the pillars entirely. The glass bridge and lift are separate, ticketed attractions with their own queues.