China
Zhangjiajie
Meet Zhangjiajie! This magical forest of towering sandstone pillars in Hunan, China, is the real-life scenery that inspired the floating mountains of Pandora in the movie Avatar.
Why is it famous?
It's home to thousands of tall, skinny quartz-sandstone pillars, some over 650 feet tall.
When covered in mist, the peaks look like they're floating in the sky.
How was it formed?
Over millions of years, wind, water, and cracks in the rock slowly wore away everything except these tall stone pillars.
What's left behind is a whole forest made of stone spires instead of trees.
Amazing facts
One famous pillar was renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" after the movie Avatar used Zhangjiajie's scenery as inspiration.
The park has a glass-bottomed bridge and a glass skywalk built high across the cliffs.
Quick facts
- One famous pillar was renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" after the movie Avatar used Zhangjiajie's scenery as inspiration.
- The park has a glass-bottomed bridge and a glass skywalk built high across the cliffs.
- Some of the pillars are more than 200 million years old.
- Zhangjiajie was one of China's very first national forest parks.