✍ 25 Dec 2023. Perched precariously on a cliff face at 3,120 metres, Bhutan's Tiger's Nest Monastery is one of the most iconic images of the Kingdom of Bhutan.
It reflects the self imposed isolated kingdom which opened to tourists (in a limited way) only since 1974.
Coming to Bhutan, one of the must do things is to climb up the Tiger's Nest Monastery, just like in New York City have to go up the Empire State Building, up Eiffel Tower in Paris, etc.
According to legend, during the 8th century, Guru Rinpoche who brought Buddhism to Bhutan from India, rode to the cliff on the back of his disciple and consort Yeshe Tsogyel who manifested as a tigress. At the summit, Guru Rinpoche meditated in a cave for 3 years, 3 months, 3 days, and 3 hours.
The cave became a holy site known as Paro Taktsang or Tiger's Nest. A monastery was founded here by Tenzin Rabgye (believed to be Guru Rinpoche's reincarnation) in the 17th century (year 1692), known as Tiger's Nest Monastery.
We left our hotel Zhiwa Ling Ascent in Thimphu at 6am and took the 40 km picturesque winding mountain road to Paro.
Why did the donkey cross the road in Paro?
Because they are like cyclists on a weekend ride in Singapore ๐
๐ฎ ๐คญ
In Paro, we took a hearty Bhutanese style breakfast with butter tea to fuel up for the anticipated energy sapping climb.
Our sumptuous Bhutanese breakfast, clockwise from 9 o'clock - pounded chili, omelette, butter tea, mushroom & cheese, curry fatty pork, boiled red rice, and red chili cheese.
Fuelling up with all these carbs and protein gave me confidence for the climb.
First sight of Tiger's Nest as we crossed the girdle bridge got my adrenaline flowing.
At the base of the cliff, mules / horses were waiting in the shadow of the Tiger's Nest.
I declined the mule because I wanted bragging rights that I climbed up to Tiger's Nest with my own two feet ๐
For about 1,000 Nu (USD12), a mule and guide will take you to the midway point to Tiger's Nest. After that, the climb gets too steep for the mules / horses (so you have to dismount and walk anyway).
There are also wooden walking poles for sale at the base. My guide Sonam kindly prepared one for me.
To me, a walking pole is a must - it is like a third leg. It helps push me up during the ascend and takes off some weight during the descent. Try your best to get one or buy one from the vendors here. It's a knee saver.
It was quite cold in the morning at the start of the climb (about zero degree Celsius). I had a shirt, padded lining, and a thick jacket on, plus scarf and hoodie. Also had gloves.
A view of our objective at 10x zoom from the base before we commenced.
Take it off! Take it off!
Not even the midpoint, it gets hot because the sun was rising and our body heat got trapped by the layers of clothing.
First to get thrown off were the gloves ๐
Prayer wheel near to the midpoint.
A princess and her white horse.
This is also the drop off point for mule passengers.
Horsing around ๐
On the guide's suggestion, I took a obligatory picture with a mule at the halfway point where the mule / horses and guides were resting.
Disclaimer: Just a photo opportunity - I did not ride the mule.
Takstang Cafeteria at the midpoint with Tiger's Nest Monastery in the background.
Coffee break. Can you see the Tiger's Nest Monastery? It still looked quite a long way away ๐
The rest stop at midpoint has buffet lunch, snacks, coffee and restroom. Food and coffee were average tasting, but the toilet was a life saver. Of course, there were plenty of opportunities for bushman toilets to answer nature's call anywhere along the climb ๐คญ There is also a free public toilet at the monastery itself.
View of Tiger's Nest from the comfort and warmth of the midpoint cafe.
The final push to the Tiger's Nest Monastery is a flight of about 700 steps.
Nearly there!
They say you can see the Tiger's face on the cliff.
There was a small waterfall, a couple of hundred feet tall near to the Tiger's Nest Monastery.
We had a rainbow welcome.
Despite coming from Singapore, I did not feel altitude sickness.
This is the guard house at the entrance of the Tiger's Nest Monastery complex. This is the furthest point our cameras could go as visitors are required to deposit their cameras in lockers here.
No photos, so based on memory, there are eight shrines in the temple complex which are dedicated to Guru Rinpoche and other deities. There is a rock formation of Guru Rinpoche's consort Yeshe Tsogyel's crown. There is also the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated in the eighth century.
Remember to bring some cash (small denominations, if you wish) for tokens for prayers and blessings.
Looking back at Paro Town in the valley.
We go up and come down along the same trail and route.
A yellow-billed blue magpie.
Hopping birds are pretty hard to catch on camera.
A monk taking a swig of spring water at a water prayer wheel along the trail.
A peek inside the water prayer wheel house. The wheel on the left was turning.
We saw many miniature stupas put up by visitors all along the trial.
My guide Sonam picking up rubbish left behind by tourists along the trial.
Pro-tip: Please bring along your own trash bags to take your own rubbish to the bin ๐
Saying goodbye to Tiger's Nest Monastery.
The base was deserted by the time we got down, the other tourists and mules were all long gone ๐คญ
On reaching the base of Tiger's Nest, we went straight for one of the many traditional Bhutanese hot stone baths waiting for us ๐ ๐ click
I took this photo of my watch while soaking in the hot stone bath. It had been a most satisfying, fulfilling trek. Required physical effort but it was not torturous for me.
Time required for the round trip was about 7 hours, mostly because I was obsessive about photo taking, stopping too very frequently to take shots.
But, the rewards are well worth it. I shall do it again and again, if given the opportunity.
Index Bhutan ๐ click
Tiger's Nest Paro Taktsang
Address: Taktsang trail, Paro, Bhutan
Entrance Fee: Nu 1,000 (USD12)
Hours: 8am - 5pm
Written by Tony Boey on 25 Dec 2023
great job Tony! i was there just this July, but started much earlier in the day at 6am, managed to get up and down in time for lunch. not much crowd as it was not the peak season, which was a good thing! even managed to get my mala beads blessed!
ReplyDeleteI also just conquered it on the 20th with my family. It was really ๐ ๐ช
ReplyDeleteI started at 9plus and done by 7pm. it was getting real dark real fast.
ReplyDelete