Tiger's Nest|Paro Taktsang
Perhaps the most famous hike in Bhutan, the Tiger’s Nest is the poster for travel in Bhutan.
A visit to Bhutan is incomplete without the strenuous climb to the mystical Tiger’s nest also known as Taktshang in the valley of Paro. The monastery is as jaw dropping as it is mystical and mysterious.
Bhutan’s most prominent and famous site hangs far up on a cliff overlooking the Paro valley in Bhutan. It is one of 13 small monasteries, or “tiger lairs” where the Buddhist master Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, is said to have meditated in the 8th century. As legend has it, Padmasambava landed at Paro Taktsang to meditate when he brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th century. He is said to have arrived on a flying tigress and is said to have meditated in the caves on which the monastery was constructed.
Our Bhutanese blogger PemC journeys to the Tiger’s Nest one fine day and sees the ancient monastery in a whole new light.
I love unplanned trips. Despite the mishaps with unpacked essentials, there’s something about spontaneously plunging into adventure that thrills me.
It was during a usual busy working day that my friend told me he was visiting Tiger’s Nest in Paro the very next day with his wife and asked me if I would be interested to tag along. And tag along I did.
With unwashed hair and little sunscreen, I grabbed my Canon 6 D and hopped on board hoping to get some interesting shots enroute and to be honest, that was actually all I looked forward to.
With Tiger’s Nest being the most overused face of travel destinations in Bhutan, I had begun to find the sacred heritage less exciting over the years which is why I’ve often been the target of much scrutiny in my family for my lack of enthusiasm in the spiritual DNA that runs most deep in my family. “I’m taking my mani (prayer beads) with me and praying while I take my long peaceful walk up.” said my spiritual friend as we got into the car. We finally reached the base camp of the trek in the early hours of a Tuesday morning and we weren’t alone.
There were clusters of tourists and guides starting their climb up as well. “How lovely.” I muttered.”So much for our long peaceful walk up.” Navigating through the crowd, it was hard to keep a straight face as I overheard a tour guide talking to his guests in an exaggerated American accent that I just couldn’t put my finger on…for all I know it sounded like a Texas cowboy trying to sound like a Jamaican. “Do you want horseback or do you want to climb the mountain with a walking stick?” asked the guide. “It is not an easy climb.” And easy it is not.
Having to go almost 2500 feet above the valley base, the steep ascent is a challenge to any usual trek enthusiast. Being one of the “mountain people”, you would think a Bhutanese’s adeptness at climbing mountains would be as natural as a caribbean at bow fishing.
By the time we got onto the steep part of the valley, we were all panting and gasping for breath. It got worse when an old Chinese couple managed to leave us behind without so much as an exhausted expression on their faces. I personally would attribute my exhaustion to the 5 kilogram camera equipment and a snack bag I was carrying. Taking many stops in between I started photographing the people taking the trek. Some smiled and posed as I looked through my viewfinder while others chose to shield their faces.
A lot of people who take the trek to Tiger’s Nest are so engrossed with the mission to just finish the walk up and reach the monastery early enough to make a rushed journey back home. Many fail to pay attention to smaller nuances that come along with such excursions. We stopped at a good spot to energize ourselves with fresh water and some snacks. The weather was perfect. Warm early morning sun rays basked our backs and the smell of the forest air as we took deep breaths kept us invigorated. There is something about nature and a forest that most people never mention. It’s really hard to blog about because it can’t be broadcast over the internet like a photo or even a sound. It’s the smell. And walking under huge pine trees is one of the most wonderful experiences ever.
We still had quite a walk ahead of us and looking up we could see the towering monastery (Tiger’s Nest) peeping through the mist that seemed to keep it hidden. The structure was majestic and towering yet simultaneously so intimate and close. Each moment we conquered a small mound the monastery drew closer and clearer.
We met a lot of tourists on the way. Some were friendly while some prefered complete silence as they prayed and hiked up the rugged mountain. And some of them thought I was a tourist. I would like to think it wasn’t just because I had a camera that made them think so. My friend has a knack of greeting every single tourist he meets which annoyed his wife. “Why not? we have to greet our country’s guests.” He stopped after his wife gave him quite the glare but I could still see his lips twitching every time a tourist walked by.
After more than an hour, we finally reached the view point from where the craggy descent of stone steps eventually take you to the opening of the Monastery (Tiger’s Nest). “It’s funny. You climb and you climb and now you have to go down down down.” said a Japanese tourist. And she’s not joking…it is quite the descent. The view from the stone path is spectacular but the journey through the cliff hugging stone steps is quite an experience for someone who’s scared of heights. As soon as we got to a clear spot, everyone geared up to get the perfect shot, including myself . At that moment it even seemed okay to push eachother off the cliff just to get the right space for the perfect shot, a crazy habit that seems to loom large among photographers.
We finally entered the gates of the monastery (Tiger’s Nest). A security personnel (a religious one at that, with prayer beads in his hands) instructed us that we cannot photograph the insides of the sacred monastery. His instruction seemed squeezed in between his mutters of “om mani padmi hoon”.
One by one, we entered the sacred kuenreys of the monastery (Tiger’s Nest)…offering our prayers and butter lamps. The sound of the doong, the monks reading the prayers from ancient Buddhist scriptures and the subtle patterned smoke rising from the burning incense sticks will forever remain engraved in my mind as a memory of home.
It’s sad to admit, but much of the Bhutanese way of travel is really about we-have-to-go-there rather than I-want- to…a graceless lurching from home to a picnic or holy spot and sprint back. It isn’t so often that Bhutanese people spontaneously jump to the idea of a small getaway during weekends for the simple pleasures of travelling…discovering…living. A journey becomes enriching when smaller nuances of the experience began to fascinate you and awaken your curiosity. You may think behaving like a tourist in your own country is bizarre but you’ll be surprised how much you’ll discover about yourself along the way.
Looking back on my trek to Tiger’s Nest, I can only describe to myself how it affected me and inspired me to go on many more.The smell of the pine and pristine mountain air did something to me. I wouldn’t really call it an epiphany but I felt content, at peace…you know, the kind of feeling we all need once in a while.