8 Days Chengdu Panda, Jiuzhaigou, and Zhangjiajie Tour

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Chengdu Arrival

   Hello, welcome to our 8-day private Jiuzhaigou and Zhangjiajie tour. On this itinerary, you will also be guided to watch the cute giant and red pandas at the Chengdu Panda Base. Upon arrival, the local driver will pick you up and then transfer you to the downtown hotel for check-in. (no tour guide service today)

   Meal: N/A

   Accommodation: in Chengdu

2. Day 2: Panda Visit, Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou by Bullet Train
   Meet Pandas from Newborns to Elders with Expert Guidance

   In the morning, meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby and then we drive to Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base. Arriving at the panda center, get a close look at pandas in their different life stage: the infant pandas, the baby pandas, the young adult pandas and the elder adult pandas. If you arrive early (before 8:30 am), you may witness the scene of panda cubs drinking milk in the delivery room. Throughout your visiting, you will be escorted by your private guide and a professional panda keeper. In each stop, be introduced to the relative facts about pandas and watch the lovely creature sleeping, eating and playing.

   After lunch, take you to the high-speed railway station. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Huanglong Jiuzhai Station. The Jiuzhaigou guide will pick you up and then transfer you to the hotel near the Jiuzhaigou Valley for check-in.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: near Jiuzhaigou Valley

   

3. Day 3: Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area
   Wander through Emerald Lakes, Cascading Falls, Untouched Valleys

   Today you will spend a whole day exploring Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area Scenic Area. The scenic area covers an area of 720 square kilometers, with most of it covered by forests. The attractions we are going to visit are located in three main Y-shaped ravines: Shuzheng, Rize, and Zechawa.

   Arriving at the Tourist Center, transfer to a sightseeing bus directly to Rizegou Valley, located between the Nuorilang Waterfall and the primeval forest. This is the best part of a tour to Jiuzhaigou Valley. The lakes are colorful, with large waterfalls and towering ancient trees. You can visit landscapes such as Panda Lake, Five Flower Lake, and Pearl Beach Waterfall.

   The bus will then take you to Norilang Center Station, where you can enjoy lunch. Continue your visit to Zechawa Valley. The highlights here are Changhai Lake and Wucaichi Ponds. The ponds are exceptionally clear, and through the water, visitors can see the patterns on the rock at the pond bottom. Due to the color difference of sediment and plants on the banks, the originally blue lake surface has become colorful.

   Finally, we visit Shuzheng Valley, near the entrance of the scenic area. The Nuorilang Waterfall is the most stunning. The waterfall is 270 meters wide and 24.5 meters high. It is one of the large calcified waterfalls in China and also the widest waterfall in China. There is an observation deck built across from the waterfall, from where you can capture the panoramic view of the waterfall. Autumn is the best time to visit. In addition, Shuzheng Lakes (树正群海), Spark Lake, and Bonsai Beach are also worth a visit.

   After the exploration, you will be sent back to the hotel to rest well.

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: near Jiuzhaigou Valley

   

4. Day 4: Huanglong Scenic Area, Back to Chengdu by Train
   Discover Nature's Palette in Alpine Ponds

   After breakfast, drive to visit Huanglong Scenic Area. There are over 3,000 colorful ponds dotted in an area of 700 square kilometers. This park is mainly characterized by its intricately structured and colorful surface calcareous landscape. It is undoubtedly a paradise for photography enthusiasts.

   To save time and energy, we will take the cable car directly to the mountaintop. Enjoy all the essence on the way down the mountain on foot. The Five Colored Ponds is the biggest highlight of Huanglong. It is the largest group of colorful ponds in Huanglong Valley, and also the highest outdoor calcareous colorful pond group in the world today. From a distance, the ponds look like blue jade plates, presenting various colors of white, purple, blue, and green under the sunlight. We suggest that you spend 1-1.5 hours here taking photos and sightseeing.

   

   Continuing to walk down the mountain, you can see waterfalls, lakes, caves, and primitive forests. Besides, Huanglong Temple is worth a visit. This is a Buddhist temple. You can see the Guanyin Hall and the eighteen statues of Arhat. Another must-see attraction is the Golden Sand Pavement, which is the largest, longest, and most colorful calcareous beach stream discovered in the world.

   After the tour, the guide will take you to the railway station for a 2-hour high-speed train back to Chengdu. After arrival, the driver in Chengdu sends you to the hotel to rest well.

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: in Chengdu

5. Day 5: Fly to Zhangjiajie from Chengdu

   Leave Chengdu for Zhangjiajie city after breakfast. You will take a flight (1.5 hours) to Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport. Upon arrival, the local Zhangjiajie tour guide will meet you and then take you to the hotel in Wulingyuan for check-in.

   Recommended night activity (on your own): Have a relaxing stroll along Xibu Street in where you can wander through the charming Tujia-style shopping pedestrian lane. Try delicious local snacks, browse unique handicrafts, and admire the vibrant night scenery.

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: in Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan

6. Day 6: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park & Grand Canyon
   Walk on Air Across the World's Highest Glass Bridge

   After breakfast, your Zhangjiajie tour guide will meet you and then take you on a visit to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the first national park in China. Arriving at the park, be led first to Huangshi (Yellow Stone) Village, the largest sightseeing platform in Zhangjiajie, over 1,200 meters high. It is said that "Don't claim you've seen Zhangjiajie until you've been to Huangshi Village". You will take cable car up to the summit for the wonderful natural scenery - cliffs and forests. Throughout the early morning, clouds and mist linger, making it a fairyland.

   After that, the sightseeing bus takes you out of the park. Your private driver will transfer you (40 minutes) to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. The emerald valley is filled with fresh air and the mist dances over streams - a perfect shooting moment. Dare to cross the canyon on the world’s highest and longest transparent glass bridge, 370 meters long, suspended 400 meters above the bottom. From afar, adventurers appear to float weightlessly in the air.

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: in Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan

   

7. Day 7: Zhangjiajie Avatar Adventure
   Take the Sky Elevator through Avatar's Floating Mountain

   Today you will enter the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park again. Your guide will lead you to hop on a sightseeing train in the Ten-Mile Gallery. During the ride, seize the chance to enjoy green valleys and karst landforms.

   After that, we transfer to explore Yuanjiajie. Here, experience the world's tallest outdoor elevator - the Bailong Elevator. In the short 66 seconds, you will go from the bottom to the top. How amazing! Let's tour some of the major attractions in the scenic area. South Sky Column is the prototype of Mount Hallelujah found in Avatar. Enchantment Platform is located on a high-altitude platform surrounded by steep stone pillars, providing an extremely wide view. The highest natural stone bridge in Zhangjiajie (350 meters high), First Bridge in the World, is erected horizontally on two mountains, connecting the east and west peaks.

   

   Then, take a bus to Tianzi Mountain. As the saying goes: If you don't visit Tianzi Mountain, you've missed the essence of Wulingyuan. The scenery is totally natural and free of artificial shaping, with clouds and fog engrained to be the most common wonders. The spot also has moonlit nights, sun-rises, and winter snowscapes. Highpoints are Imperial Brush Peak, Sky Garden, Imperial Brush Peak, and Commanding Generals Deck.

   After the visit, take the cable car down the mountain. You will be escorted to Zhangjiajie downtown hotel for check-in.

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: in Zhangjiajie Downtown

8. Day 8: Departure from Zhangjiajie
   Conquer Glass Skywalk and 999 Steps to Tianmen Cave

   Today is your last day of sightseeing in Zhangjiajie. After breakfast, you will be taken to Tianmen Mountain, where the main peak has an elevation of 1518.6 meters and is the highest mountain in Zhangjiajie. After arrival, take the cableway up the mountain. This is the longest passenger cableway in the world.

   After getting out of the cableway, the guide will take you to “check in” the transparent Glass Skywalk (60 meters long and 4-5 meters wide), the 1,600 meters long Ghost Valley Plank Road, and Tianmen Mountain Temple, the Buddhist center in western Hunan.

   

   Then, we take the trans-mountain escalator down to Tianmen Cave, the iconic attraction of Tianmen Mountain, located at the main peak we mentioned earlier. This is the highest natural karst cave in the world. Here, you can challenge 999 steps (with a slope between 42 degrees and 70 degrees) to reach the cave. Finally, take the cableway down the mountain.

   This is the end of your 8-day Jiuzhaigou Zhangjiajie tour! Hope you have taken satisfactory landscape photos!

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: N/A