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.
