The first thing to get straight about Zhangjiajie is that the name covers three different places, spread out across a fairly large area, each with its own ticket, its own entrance and its own day. People arrive expecting one mountain and discover they have booked the wrong one. I have watched it happen at the ticket gate.

The second thing is that this is a physically demanding destination. There is a lot of standing in queues, a lot of stairs, and a lot of walking on paths that are sometimes steep and sometimes slippery. My knees filed a complaint on day two. Bring decent shoes and do not plan three heavy days back to back.

The three places, separated

• Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The sandstone pillars that inspired the floating mountains in Avatar. This is the big one, and it needs two full days.
• Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge. A separate attraction about 30 kilometres east, with a glass-bottomed bridge and a canyon walk. Half a day.
• Tianmen Mountain. Directly above Zhangjiajie city, reached by a famously long cable car. Half to one day.

They are not connected. There is no single ticket. Plan them as three separate outings, and be realistic about how much walking your knees will accept.

The national park, done properly

This is the reason to come. The park has several separate scenic zones and a network of shuttle buses, cable cars and the Bailong glass elevator built into the cliff face. The ticket is valid for several days, which matters, because you cannot see it in one.

My recommended split

Day one: the Yuanjiajie area, home to the famous pillar views and the elevator. Get in at opening, take the shuttle to the elevator, and work your way across the top. Day two: the Tianzi Mountain area and the Golden Whip Stream walk at the bottom, which follows a clear stream through the valley and is far quieter than the viewpoints above.

Go early. Genuinely early, meaning on the first bus. By eleven the main viewpoints are a scrum of selfie sticks, and the shuttle queues can eat an hour.

Should you do the glass bridge?

Honest answer: it depends what you want. The bridge is 300 metres above the canyon floor and the engineering is impressive. It also gets very crowded, and the glass panels are frequently scuffed by thousands of shoes, so the dramatic see-through effect is weaker than the photographs suggest.

If you are going for the thrill, book a timed slot online in advance, because walk-up tickets often sell out. If you are indifferent to heights and short on time, spend the day in the national park instead. That is a defensible choice and I would make it again.

Tianmen Mountain and the 99 bends

The cable car from the city up to Tianmen is one of the longest in the world and the ride alone justifies the trip. At the top there are cliff-edge walkways with glass sections, a temple, and the huge natural arch known as Heaven's Gate, which you reach by a road with 99 hairpin bends or by a very long staircase.

Allocate most of a day, and check the weather before you commit, because on a cloudy day you will ride up into white nothing. The cable car is the first thing to close in high wind.

Practical planning

Fly or take the high-speed train to Zhangjiajie, then stay either in the city or, better, in Wulingyuan near the national park entrance. Wulingyuan saves you an hour each way. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; summer is hot and wet, and winter closes some cable cars. Book park tickets and cable cars online through the official platform before you arrive, and carry your passport, because it is your ticket.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.