No trip to Bhutan is complete without a visit to this great monastery called Paro Taktsang or Tiger’s nest. Much like the Eiffel tower is to Paris or the Statue of Liberty is to New York, it is an iconic image of Bhutan. Located on a cliff side in the upper Paro valley, this Himalayan Buddhist site is one of the thirteen Tiger’s nest caves in historical Tibet where Padmasambhava practiced and taught Vajrayana Buddhism.
A brief history
Established in the 9th century as a Buddhist meditation cave, it was formally built into a monastery in the 17th century.
Legend has it that the Indian Guru Padmasambhava ( Guru Rinpoche) flew in to this cave on the back of a tigress and meditated here. Guru Rinpoche or the “Second Buddha” is believed to have had eight manifestations and to have banished the demons . He is believed to have brought Buddhism to Central Asia and anointed this place as the site for a future monastery. That explains why this place is so sacred to the locals and why such a monastery was built at this location.
Though we call it Tiger’s nest in English, Taktsang means a tigress’s lair.
Guru Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche ( a mural painting)
Structure
Though the structure itself is beautiful, what adds invincibility to the place making it more attractive to the tourists , is the isolated location on a steep slope overlooking the valley.
The monastery has white walls which stand out against the rocks and surrounding trees. The red and gold borders and circles provide a typical Bhutanese look to the buildings. There are four main buildings here in addition to smaller ones for various purposes. The buildings have rock steps connecting them making it look as if the buildings rose from the cliffs around.
Getting there
The monastery is more than 3000 metres above ground level. No vehicles can go up there and dense forests line both sides of the track. Hiking is the only way to reach the monastery. Ponies can be hired for part of the distance but the last part has to be done on foot. The total hike takes anywhere from 3 to 4 hours one way depending on one’s capability.
Our Hike
When we reached the place and the bus dropped us off at the parking lot, the monastery looked like a small building perched somewhere up on a cliff. It looked a little invincible but we were determined to make it to the top. We were all a little doubtful if we would really be able to reach up there; but the adventurous spirit egged us on…..
At the parking lot, we hired walking sticks and set off on this wonderful experience.
The first views of the monastery as we started our hike uphill.
Looking at this picture you would realise why we were all apprehensive!!!!!
The initial part of the walk was through a forested area with tall trees on either side. At most places the roots had spread out on the floor ….
All set for the hike!!
The initial track
The tall trees and their roots….
The path is actually a mud road around 10 feet wide with an uphill incline but not very steep.
Winding paths took us around trees and rocks and at one place there was a small stream and a shrine…
A small shrine enroute…
At places there are wooden steps and at places stone steps too and we did not find it very difficult . The company and the walking stick provided the much needed moral and physical support. The colourful prayer flags added to the charm…
The steps and the flags….
Every now and then there are small resting places strategically built in the shade and we made full use of them…
Taking a breather!!
The Midway Break…
Almost halfway up there is a restaurant where we halted for a short break and some food…
Some rest and food…
Continuing after the break, the path was narrower and there were more stony steps. The views of the valley from above was amazing indeed.
The Paro valley and the Cafetaria seen from above
As we ascended further up, we could see the monastery close up in between the trees.
The foliage parts to show us the monastery…
And finally we reached the view point that gives the best views of the monastery. Some pictures from there….
The hard work was really worth this amazing sight…
One as a memory of this great hike….
After the view point, it is a steep flight of stairs down and again up effectively crossing from one hill slope to the other
The Monastery
The monastery is decorated with Buddhist symbols and the most impressive is that of a tiger in :”The Hall of Thousand Buddhas”.
It is an active monastery today and many monks meditate here.
It was a special day in Bhutan, the death anniversary of Guru Rinpoche and so the monastery was out of bounds for tourists. So we could not enter the actual monastery building.
All along the way, we could see locals climbing up with family and even little children. Most of them greeted us with “Kuzu Zangpo la”, a traditional Bhutanese greeting meaning Hello ….how are you?
After a short rest, we started our descent down and that was more challenging than the climb. We had to be careful as at many places, it was slippery . Just as on our way up, we rested and took small breaks and enjoyed each other’s company and finally reached the parking lot where the bus awaited us.
Some of us reached our bus a little earlier and rested there for the others to come. The whole trek took around 9 hours with a short lunch break. So we were quite happy just sitting in the bus and resting our backs.
The sheer feeling of having done this challenging climb successfully washed away the tiredness and a feeling of achievement kept us pepped up and happy.
There is just one lesson to learn from this…however tough any task may feel, if your heart tells you to do it….just go ahead and DO IT…..
IF YOU TRY; YOU MAY ACHIEVE ; BUT IF YOU DON’T, YOU NEVER WILL.…..
I leave you with this thought….
See you next week with some more visuals and experiences from Bhutan before we wind up from there. Till then, do keep your comments and feedback coming…
Travel-along.in 