The Avatar Mountains in Zhangjiajie: Where to See Them, What It Costs and How Many Days

The “Avatar Mountains” are the sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, in the Wulingyuan area of north-western Hunan, China. Wulingyuan has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1992 and holds more than 3,000 narrow sandstone pillars and peaks, many over 200 m high. The single pillar promoted as the model for the film’s floating Hallelujah Mountains stands at Yuanjiajie, inside the park. To see it, sleep in Wulingyuan, ride the Bailong Elevator or a cableway up, and give the park one full day for the highlights or two to walk the valley floor as well.

Which mountain inspired Avatar?

The pillar is the Southern Sky Column (南天一柱), also called the Qiankun Column (乾坤柱), at Yuanjiajie, about 1,074 m above sea level. In January 2010, soon after the first Avatar film, Zhangjiajie’s government website reported a ceremony renaming it “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain”, saying a Hollywood photographer had photographed the area in 2008. After an online backlash the city told state media it had not renamed the peak; its tourism chief said it had only put up a poster comparing the two. James Cameron, for his part, was quoted as saying the floating peaks were modelled on Huangshan in Anhui.

Today the park’s own route map calls the Yuanjiajie pillar the “Hallelujah Mountain prototype”, and Hunan’s provincial government recommends taking the Bailong Elevator up Yuanjiajie to see it. Nothing here floats: Pandora’s peaks were created digitally. What makes the real pillars look adrift is low cloud filling the valleys between them, most often after rain.

Where to see the Avatar scenery inside the park

The park is large and its areas are linked by eco-buses, cableways and lifts. Go high first for the views, then walk the valley floor and look up.

Avatar Mountains, Tianmen Mountain or the Glass Bridge?

Three different places are sold under the Zhangjiajie name, and many photos mix them up. The Avatar pillars are in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park at Wulingyuan. Tianmen Mountain, with the cave arch called Heaven’s Gate, cliff walkways and a cable car up from the mountain gate, is a separate mountain beside downtown Zhangjiajie, about 40 minutes by car from Wulingyuan. The famous glass bridge spans the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, a third attraction with its own ticket. Each needs its own day or half day.

How much does it cost to see the Avatar Mountains?

• Park admission, RMB 165: entry only. The eco-buses, cableways and lifts are not included.
• Admission plus eco-bus, RMB 236: the practical choice, because the eco-buses link the park’s areas. Cableways and lifts are still extra.
• Both tickets are valid for four consecutive days. RMB 3 insurance is optional and sold separately.
• Paid separately: the Bailong Elevator, the Tianzi Mountain, Huangshi Village and Yangjiajie cableways, and the Ten-Mile Gallery mini-train.
• Entry is booked for a first gate and a time period, and a passport booking does not always go through online. Our tickets and entrances guide covers the gates and what to do if a booking fails.

Prices as listed on the official Wulingyuan ticket page when we checked it on 20 August 2026. Check again before you pay.

The one-day Avatar route

This is the park’s own one-day route, and the order most first visits follow:

1. Enter at the East Gate and take the eco-bus to the lower station of the Tianzi Mountain cableway.
2. Ride up and walk the Tianzi Mountain viewpoints: Helong Park, Imperial Brush Peak, Fairy Offering Flowers and the West Sea.
3. Take the eco-bus to Yuanjiajie for the First Bridge Under Heaven, the Hallelujah Mountain prototype, the Back Garden and Mihun Platform.
4. Ride the Bailong Elevator down, then walk Golden Whip Stream upstream or the Ten-Mile Gallery downstream.
5. Sleep in Wulingyuan.

It is a long day, and it works only if the cableway, the lift and the buses are all running; rain or wind can change the order. The Bailong Elevator rises 326 m up the cliff face and is listed by Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest outdoor lift.

How many days do you need?

• One full day: the route above, Tianzi Mountain and Yuanjiajie. This is the Avatar highlights day.
• Two full days: add the park’s second official day, Huangshi Village from the South Gate and then the 7.5 km Golden Whip Stream walk.
• Three full days: add Tianmen Mountain from downtown. This is what we suggest for a first visit to Zhangjiajie.
• Count only days that start in the right hotel. An afternoon arrival is a travel day, not a park day.

When do the mountains look like they float?

The floating look comes from cloud and mist sitting between the pillars, most often after rain, and no one can promise it on a given day. For a first, walking-focused visit, compare April and October, and avoid the national holidays in early May and early October, when the park is at its busiest. Summer brings showers, slippery paths and school-holiday crowds; winter can bring snow and cold on the viewpoints and fewer people. If the view matters to you, keep a spare day.

Getting there and where to stay

Fly to Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport or take a train to Zhangjiajie West, then go by road to Wulingyuan, about 40 minutes by car from the city. Sleep in Wulingyuan for the park days: four hotel-to-park trips from downtown add close to three hours. Move downtown afterwards if you are going up Tianmen Mountain.