Holiday in India & Bhutan (10): Tiger’s Nest
Today – it was Friday – I experienced the toughest climb of my life and the most stunning view of my life. This was because we visited the so-called Tiger’s Nest.
Paro Taktsang, the proper name for the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site. According to legend, Guru Padmasambhava flew to this location from Singye Dzong on the back of a tigress and the place was consecrated to tame the local tiger demon.
We were told by our Bhutanese guide Jigme that the first temple was established here in 1508, that a second temple was constructed in 1645, and that the structure as we know it today was built between 1691-1694, renovated between 1961-1964, seriously damaged by fire in 1998, and completely reconstructed in 2005.
The monastery is located 6 miles (10 kms) to the north of Paro and hangs on a precarious cliff at a height of 10,240 feet (3,120 metres) about 3,000 feet (900 metres) above the Paro valley, on the right side of the Paro Chu (‘chu’ in Bhutanese means ”river or water”). The rock slopes are very steep (almost vertical) and the monastery buildings are built into the rock face.
Viewing of the monastery requires a hike in three sections, The first section, up to a viewpoint and cafeteria, is steep and rocky and can be undertaken by donkey.The second section is a little shorter but, if anything, steeper and rockier. The third second consists of concrete steps with handrails, but it is especially challenging because one row of steps down is followed by another row going up and this pattern repeats itself endlessly, running – forgive the pun – to some 700 steps in total.
I would personally assess the difficulty of the climb in these terms. On the upward climb, section one is very tough, section two is very, very tough, and section three is very, very, very tough. On the descent, section three is awful (those 700 steps), section two is very tough, and section one is merely hard.
Of our group of 16 (including our British guide), 14 completed the first section to the viewpoint and six managed to complete all three sections and reach the monastery itself. Jenny and I were pleased that we went to the very top where we viewed two of the six chapels.
But it was so hard. The temperature was not the problem we feared, but the steepness of the climb, the irregularity of the terrain, and the high altitude were so tough. However, we were thrilled to have done it, because the views on the climb were glorious and the views of the monastery were breathtaking.
For the record, it took Jenny and I an hour and a quarter to complete the first section which involved ascending from 8,465 feet (2,580 metres) to 9,022 feet (2,750 metres). Then it took us another three quarters of an hour to complete the second section and another half hour to reach the monastery at 10,240 feet (3,120 metres).
Just before arriving at the monastery, a large water fall, which drops by 200 feet (60 metres) into a sacred pool, is forded over by a bridge.
So we did it with two and a half hours climbing, but with a break – never did black coffee and biscuits be so welcome – at the viewpoint. The descent involved a brief stop at the cafeteria and took about two hours. The group arrived at the base of the climb at 7.45 am and we left there at 2.30 pm, ready for a late lunch and a bit of free time in Paro.