Tiger’s nest is like a secret monastery, which stayed in oblivion, waiting to be discovered. The photo below shows the Paro Monastery from the beginning of trek. Can you spot the Tiger’s Nest here?
Spot the nest!
Tiger’s nest is a name given to “Paro Taktsang” monastery. The story behind the name is fascinating. “Paro Taktsang Monastery” was built by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye in 1692. Rabgye was believed to be the reincarnation of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava).
According to a legend, Guru Rinpoche flew to this monastery in Paro, by riding a tigress. He meditated for 3 months here and conquered evil spirits. Imagine a tigress flying with a divine Guru riding it!The story gives you chills!
The first glimpse of the Paro monastery is magical! When you spot the Tiger’s nest for the first time, you consider reaching it next to impossible. The trek might be strenuous for 1st timers. However, it is not very difficult.
First glimpse of the Paro Monastery
You can choose to ride instead of trekking
We left Paro city early in the morning. We started the trek around 9 AM to reach before 1 PM. If you plan to explore the interiors of this magical monastery, you have to reach there before 1 PM. The lunch break between 1 PM to 2 PM may keep you waiting. Also, while returning, you may find the descend difficult as the sun is about to set.
After we started the trek, we found ourselves passing through woods and rocks. It was as like being an explorer in search of treasure. We discovered many shortcuts on the way. This made the trek more exciting. However, some shortcuts were way more difficult than imagined and we had to retreat back to the original trek.
While trekking upwards, we discovered a cafeteria. But, we decided to rest while returning. As we continued our trek upwards, we witnessed fascinating views of Paro city and the valley below! The trek was getting exciting!
Splendid view of Paro city
Huts nestled amidst nature
On our way towards Tiger’s nest, Paro
We raced against time to reach the monastery before 1 pm. Finally we reached the magical monastery , after 3 hours of moderate trekking. It was divine! There were many tourist admiring the monument. But, in silence. There was a security procedure and everybody followed it with discipline. I cannot imagine such discipline at any Indian tourist spot!
We took two hours to admire the legendary monument. We also visited Guru Rinpoche’s temple dedicated to his victory over evil. The experience was magical. We just sat there admiring the surrounding natural beauty.
The view from the monastery was spectacular. We could see the spot from where we had started trekking. We could also see Paro city far away. After soaking in nature for some time, we realized that there was a dense cloud approaching towards us!
Suddenly, it started raining and we had to run for a shelter. To our astonishment, it also started to snow a little! The rain, snow and thunder made this Paro monastery a wonderful magical experience!
Finally, the rain subsided. We started our descend. While returning, we rested for some time at the cafeteria I mentioned before.
However, it was quite costly. The lunch buffet was worth Rs 420 and snacks, worth Rs 84. We did not opt for these options, But, we could not resist the coffee.We enjoyed the caffeine as the sun signalled to return us back to Paro city. The birds had already started to return back to their nest.
Tiger’s Nest, Paro
Trek to Tiger’s Nest, Paro was the highlight of our Bhutan trip. But, there were 9 other things which I would recommend to you. If you are planning to go to Bhutan, you would find my recommended way to reach Bhutan helpful. Comments are welcome 🙂
