Towards Tiger's Nest Monastery

Are you a hiking enthusiast? Well, there are innumerable hiking trails around the world and the one I am writing about is of taking your foot to the Tiger's Nest which is a monastery built at the center of the rock (mountain) in the year 1692 in Paro District of Bhutan and is resting there on the cliff. Sounds fascinating, isn't it? 

On way to become a tourist guide

Tiger's Nest has been derived from its local name "Paro Takstang" which means Tiger's lair in Paro. This Tiger's Nest Monastery is the charm of Bhutan spiritually as well as in terms of traveling and attaining peace in the serene mountains.

What is the story behind the name?

The legends say there once was Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) who flew on the back of the tigress from Khenpachong. This place was declared sacred to tame the Tiger demon. So this is the place where Guru Rinpoche meditated for three years in approximately 8th Century and so this monastery is built in his memory and considered to be one of the most sacred places among the Buddhists.

Regarding the the above picture, there were many students who wanted to become a tourist guide, but for that hiking up to the monastery is mandatory as in to check the physical strength.

 

Portrait of a Seller

The Trek

The trail towards the destination is not at all risky. The hilly routes are wider and safe for anyone to hike up. The monastery is situated around 3000 mt. above sea level and there also lies a "View Point" from where anyone can see the monastery and the valley of Paro. And believe me this point is the best location where you will have a mesmerizing view of the landscape.

Alright let’s get back to the hiking trail from the scratch. At the initial level, there are various vendors and tiny shops that sell Bhutanese traditional and religious artifacts and musical instrument like singing bowl, jewellery items, etc. 


There are also ponies available, but they will carry you till the First Cafeteria (takes at an average 1 and half hours). The Second Cafeteria is again 1 hour from the First Cafeteria, but from the First cafeteria, you will need to be on foot till the monastery.

View from the First Cafeteria

Rocky Forest Trek

Well, we are not even half way through!! While marching ahead, you will notice many beautiful landscapes including farms full of rice cultivation, chirping of birds, the happy and exhausted faces of the hikers and the dense forest. Who doesn’t like the dense forest and its eeriness? I am certainly up for it!! 

 

Heaven's Blessings

I captured this shot in the evening while returning from the monastery. It pretty much looks like the heaven has opened up its gates and giving its blessings to the farmers who are living in those mountains for living the spiritual life and working very hard to keep the crops safe from deterioration. Truly amazing !!

Forest Trek

The believers would frequently visit this monastery, not with an aim of attaining nirvana but to achieve the inner peace and oneness with mother nature. Admiring the nature; that is all I am interested to do for my entire life. You will feel the same, when you gain the experience of hiking in these mountains.

Walking towards the dense

This trail is really amazing and undoubtedly this is one of the safest treks in the world. Some of you might have heard that only dangerous treks would give you amazing scenery, but all bets are off when tiger’s nest trek is in picture. I’ll have to admit that of all the landscapes I have seen in my life, this one is completely free from littering and this very thing is attracting the tourists around the world. 

Prayer Wheels

At every 4-5 minutes, we would notice prayer flags tied on the trees or on the elastic threads and it is in fact very nice to have a strong faith and also to pass on to the passersby as it emits positive energy and encourages them to carry on the journey by overcoming every obstacles in the way.  Right at this point, I had an amazing view of a Yellow-billed Blue Magpie and it looked like it was certainly very interested in getting photographed!!

Yellow-billed Blue Magpie

Portrait of Super Boy

On our way, we met this kid and at this age he almost completed the entire hike of 7-8 km from the base camp. Certainly, I was amazed by the little one's strength and efforts and this makes him more than just a "cool dude". I took this shot with my 50mm f/1.8 lens and it has always supported me whenever I wanted to take someone’s portrait. The picture of the lady vendor is also being taken from this lens, so yes if you are a professional photographer, then I would keep my mouth shut, but to others I must recommend it.

Prayer Flags

So, we arrived to the Second Cafeteria, but unfortunately it was closed due to some unforeseen events that might have taken place and it took almost 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach there. From this Second Cafeteria, our next stop is the “View Point” which I discussed earlier and the distance between these two places is hardly 20 minutes on foot. Below is the image taken from the “View Point”.  Heavenly beautiful, isn’t it?

Panoramic View from "View Point"

There it is!! The Bhutan’s Charm cuddling the mountain since centuries. But do you really think it’s that simple to get there? Between you and the monastery lie 700 steps (around 450 downwards and 250 upwards). So, ironically, you can say that this “View Point” is made for the travelers to take rest and seek the beauty around.  

Tiger's Nest Monastery

Although a wide angle lens would have been a great help, but never mind, thanks to the panorama! So, on the way to the monastery, there is a waterfall (not that big) and the water is considered to be holy as it is coming directly from the mountains (free from any pollutants). You can literally feel the difference between the mountainous water and the one you drink at home; it was so sweet and cold that any tired traveler must have a glass of it for body’s rejuvenation. 

Okay, I won’t discuss what is inside the monastery, because I don’t know whether I can or not. So far as I know I haven’t found any articles on internet referring to this. Therefore, I would avoid it completely. Thus, this is pretty much everything considering the fact that it almost took 3 hours to reach to this monastery. Actually 3 and half to be more precise considering the rest we took.  This will take an entire day and please avoid the ponies if you don’t have any physical problem or disability.  

In my next upload, I will also cover my experience in Bhutan along with pictures. I hope this upload has helped you a bit. Take Care and Enjoy your upcoming trips!!

Written & Edited by
Parth Patel