Tiger's Nest (Taktshang Goemba)

Saturday, 18 November 2017

The highlight of the trip was our hike up to the Tiger's Nest monastery. While a short hike (about 6 miles round trip), it's one of the most physically challenging ones I've taken. Disclaimer: While I can hike forever on flat ground, I need a T-shirt that says "I don't do hills". Uphill has always been a challenge, and downhill is hard on the knees. A steady 20% uphill grade for a 2500 ft (760 m) elevation gain, starting at 7800 ft (2375 m) was tough. I know that doesn't sound like much to mountain climbers, but the oxygen available at 10,000 ft is much less than at sea level! It also didn't help that the dust and exertion triggered a mild asthma that I hadn't dealt with for more than 10 years.

You can ride a pony up the first half of the trail. Here Sonam, our bus driver, walks up the trail with three of our tour members on ponies.

In the morning, the Tiger's Nest is mostly in shade. The tea room rest stop at the half-way point is in the foreground.

Our first glimpse of the Tiger's Nest.

The ponies stop here, just a hundred meters-or-so from the tea room. (Don't get fooled by this brief level spot in the trail!)

We're getting higher. My trip to the monastery took 3 hours. Most people take 1.5 to 2 hours. (Like I said, I'm S-L-O-W going uphill.) Sonam (bus driver), Hutch (VMFA tour leader), and Lon generously stayed with me.

Fellow hikers passing us on the trail.

Along the trail are many prayer flags, cairns, and impromptu stupas.

Rocky nooks and crannies are filled with "cupcake stupas" -- small clay stupas made in molds and usually brightly painted.

As we get closer, it's still difficult to see the approach to the monastery.

The views of the Paro valley are also magnificent.

A brief rest stop at the top of the trail. From here it's about 600 stone steps down into the ravine, then another 200 back up to the monastery gate. It's at least another 100 steps up to the top of the temple complex. No photos are allowed in the temple complex itself.

The Tiger's Nest temple complex.

The trail crosses a waterfall at the dip between the observation point and the Tiger's Nest.

A small portion of the stairs that lead down from the observation point into the ravine. On the return trip, you (obviously) have to climb back up 600 stairs to the top before returning down the trail to the start.

One last look at the Tiger's Nest.

How does it sit up there on the cliff side?

Some people say they see a demon face in the mountain above the Tiger's Nest. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche flew to a cave on this site on the back of a tigress to subdue the local demon.