The area is not far from Zhagye, we went by private tour arranged in the hostel with some chinese students. The place is really quiet with a deep spiritual atmosphere. Is easy to do both highlights in the same day if you don´t have enough time, Mati Si in the morning and Danxia rainbow mountains, in the afternoon. It´s a little bit hard, but worthy and not too expensive
800JK
I got to Mati Si on a public bus that turned into a private tour bus. When we got to the town near the caves, I was told that for 50 RBM the bus would take us to the caves and back to Zhangye. This was good. Walking into the cliffs and through the tunnels up to the higher level caves was awesome. The views of the surrounding high, snow-capped mountains and the grasslands in the other direction were beautiful. All in all, it was a great day trip from Zhangye.
228philg
Originally my group was going to Zhangye to visit the Rainbow Mountains. However, we were told about this place by one of our hostel staff members. Needless to say this place is very memorable. From our hostel we paid ¥100 for transportation to both MaTi and Rainbow Mountains. Admission was ¥75 (Student discount). From there our driver brought us to an area with small yet powerful mountain horses. We paid ¥200 to bring the horses to a scenic river area where we climbed around the rocks on the river. Then brought the horses back to this open grass field where we were allowed to roam around on our own with them. And the view was simply breathtaking. Lord of The Rings level amazing. After we went up the road to a sort of market street with a bunch of Tibetan merchandise for sale (authenticity is unknown). WE proceeded up the hill and saw an extraordinary Buddhist temple/monastery carved INTO the mountain. This place was magnificent in every sense of the word. Climbing into the monastery is an amazing experience. If you're in the area you MUST go here!
psychokat
We visited mati si on a very cold day. The mountains were full of snow. All this meant very few people around so the whole place to ourselves. The place is a beautiful spot with a river running through it although it was dry but as it warms up later in the year it should be back in life. The park itself is as all sights in China a theme park yet because it was cold the restaurants, the horse riders, the kitsch accomodation and shops were all shut which made it much more pleasant. The temples and the grottos are fantastic. There is a path to the viewpoint above the two white stupas. Once at the viewpoint jump over the chains and follow the path down and around the back of the valley. The rocks around are spotted with stupas. It is truly magical. Getting to mati si is a bit of a pain. We took the bus from zhangye to mati he crossroads. From there it is 9 kms to the entrance yet the actual site is further. At the crossroads we thought there would be taxis or another bus. There was a taxi but our bus driver somehow managed to send him off and asked us to wait. Another bus rocked up with a small group of chinese tourists. We got on that but without realising the cost which transpired to be 100 yuan from the crossroads, to the monastery and then all the way back to zhangye. The bus stayed at the sight waiting for three hours so we arrived at 12 and left at 3:30 but I believe that catching that bus was lucky and I do not think this is a routine journey. In addition, some other folk who had come to the monastery by taxi got on on the way back and paid 20 yuan so it all smelt dodgy at the end. So, if it is not clear how you get there I d say do not repeat what we did, just hire a cab for the day and explore as long as you like and know what you re paying exactly. Park fee was only 55 yuan pp.