Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie: Routes to Tianmen Cave
3 ways up Tianmen Mountain: start at the city cableway or the mountain gate, reach the summit and Tianmen Cave. Routes A, B and C explained.
Contents
Tianmen Mountain rises right above Zhangjiajie city, and its star attraction is Tianmen Cave, the great opening in the cliff that you reach by express cableway or by an escalator in 7 stages that runs through the mountain.[1] The mountain offers 3 ready-made routes that link the city cableway station, the mountain gate, the summit and the cave. Which one you take depends on where you start and how you want to finish.
Choose a starting point and direction
Route A starts at the lower Tianmen cableway station in the city. You ride the cableway to the summit and see the sights up there, then take the escalator down to Tianmen Cave. An express cableway brings you down to the mountain gate, and a shuttle takes you back to the city station.[1]
Route B starts at the mountain gate. The express cableway takes you up to Tianmen Cave first, an escalator carries you on up to the summit, and the main cableway lowers you straight into the city.[1]
Route C also starts at the gate and follows the same way up through the cave and the escalator to the summit. From the top you ride the escalator back down to the cave, take the express cableway to the gate and finish with the shuttle to the city station.[1]
Things to Do
Offers are only loaded from GetYourGuide after you click. GetYourGuide can then process your IP address and set cookies. Privacy Policy
GetYourGuide partner offers. GoAsia may earn a commission if you book through these offers. Check whether tickets or transfers are included, and follow the attraction's official booking and admission rules.
Getting to the cableway and the gate
If you drive, set your navigation to “天门山索道下站” (Tianmen Mountain cableway lower station) or “天门山山门” (Tianmen Mountain gate). The mountain is very close to the bus station, the railway station and the airport. A taxi takes under 10 minutes without traffic and is the easiest choice for individual visitors. A scenic-area shuttle runs between the city cableway station and the mountain gate.[1]
Keep Wulingyuan as a separate outing
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and Tianmen Mountain are different places with different entrances. The Wulingyuan core area has 5 ticket stations: the Wulingyuan gate (east), the Forest Park station (south), Tianzi Mountain (north), Zimugang (south-east) and Yangjiajie (west). A city bus from the bus station next to the railway station runs to the east or south gate about every 15 minutes, and the fare was 13 yuan in 2022.[2] Give each area its own day.
Sources and background
Numbers in the text such as [1] refer to these sources.
- [1] Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism: 张家界天门山景区游玩交通指南. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
- [2] Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism: 张家界武陵源景区游玩交通指南. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Route A starts at the lower cableway station in the city, goes up by cableway, down to the cave by escalator and ends with the gate shuttle back to the city. Route B starts at the mountain gate, visits the cave before the summit and descends to the city by cableway. Route C also starts at the gate, but returns from the summit to the cave by escalator before the express cableway and shuttle.
Route A starts at the lower Tianmen cableway station in the city. Routes B and C start at the mountain gate.
Yes, all 3 routes include Tianmen Cave. Route A reaches the summit first and the cave on the way down. Routes B and C go to the cave first, and route C passes it again on the way back.
A scenic-area shuttle runs between the city cableway station and the mountain gate.
Take a taxi. The bus station, railway station and airport are all close, and the ride takes under 10 minutes without traffic.
No. Tianmen Mountain has its own cableway station and gate. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park belongs to the Wulingyuan area, which has 5 ticket stations of its own, so plan the two as separate outings.
