We were up early and at the trail head to Taktsang Lhakhang, the Tiger’s Nest, by 7:30am. It was a perfect day for a hike; sunny, cloudless blue sky, temperatures in the high 50s. The Tiger’s Nest clings to a rocky mountain towering 2600 ft above the valley at an elevation of 9678 ft. It would be about 3 miles of continuous uphill hiking to reach the monastery.
At the start of the trail were three small structures built over a stream. Inside each, was a prayer wheel continuously spun by the rushing water; the wheels were attached to bells so we started our hike with tinkling bells. In Buddhism, bells have many important meanings – they can represent heavenly enlightenment, a call for protection and a way to ward off evil spirits. We appreciated all three for our hike.
The trail immediately started climbing uphill. We quickly shed our coats with the physical exertion. We occasionally had to move to the side of the trail to make way for horses – people who could not or would not hike could ride horses to the tea house at the halfway point.
As we continued to climb and emerged from the trees, we had beautiful views of the valley and snow capped peaks in the distance.
In the distance, we could also see our first stop, the tea house and our ultimate destination, the monastery perched high on the cliff.
We saw several beautiful birds along the trail. At first we mistook the sunbird for a hummingbird; it was colorful, small and hovered near flowers but its wings do not move as fast. We saw several magpies with their long elegant tail feathers perched on branches along the trail.
The trail was lightly trafficked. In addition to tourists making the trek, we saw monks and other devotees making the pilgrimage to the Tiger’s Nest. Bhutanese believe that as a devout Buddhist, one must visit Taktasang Lhakhang at least once in his or her lifetime.
It took about 75 mins of steady uphill climbing before the trail flattened out. This was the spot where the horses stopped and people either walked to the tea house or continued the rest of the climb on foot. There were rows of prayer wheels and prayer flags. One of the more unique prayer wheel constructions was made of empty gatorade bottles. We spun each wheel as we walked by.
We followed a path to the right past strings of prayer flags to the small tea house. Sitting on the veranda, we rested for thirty minutes, enjoying a cup of tea, some biscuits and the beautiful view.
The climb from the tea house was even more steep than what we’d already hiked. We plodded forward steadily for another 45 minutes, hearts pounding. Eventually, we reached the high point of the hike and could see the Tiger’s Nest directly across the mountain from us.
Much to our dismay, we had to walk down hundreds of steps along the side of the mountain in order to cross a chasm between the two mountains. Although it felt good to walk downhill vs. uphill for a while, we knew that on the way back we would have to reclimb these hundreds of stairs.
At the bottom of the chasm was a small waterfall cascading down the rock face. The water from Dakini Falls rushes into a small stream in the ravine called Shelkarchu or the Crystal Stream. It is believed that one of the saints visiting the monastery threw her prayer beads against the rock and water gushed forth like a crystal rosary.
We crossed the ravine via a small suspension bridge and then climbed more steps back up to the monastery. Once at the entrance, we had to check our backpacks, cameras and cell phones with security and undergo a quick body search before we could proceed to the monastery campus. There were not many people on site; many hikers stop at the tea house, so our visit would be peaceful. We took off our boots and began to explore the temples.
Taktsang Lhakhang is comprised of at least seven temples and shrines built on the cliffside. The history of this sacred places begins in the 8th century when Guru Rinpoche, the father of Bhutanese Buddhism, visited the site and cleansed the place of evil spirits. It is believed that he rode here on the back of a tigress and that this tigress was actually the transformation of Yeshe Tsogyal, former wife of a Tibetan emperor and mother of Tibetan Buddhism who became a disciple of the Guru. It was in a cave on site that the Guru performed mediation and emerged in eight incarnated forms.
The first temple was believed to have been built on site as early as 1508 but in 1645 the site was given to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the founder of the nation state of Bhutan. In 1694 the two storied temple, the Eight Manifestations of the Guru was built around the cave where Guru Rinpoche meditated. The entrance of the cave is sealed and guarded behind a carved wooden grille; the cave is opened only once a year for a monastic ceremony. We visited the temple to see the large image of the Guru standing on the tigress guarding the cave entrance. This is how the temple got its name – Taktsang in Dzongha translates to Tiger’s Lair, but it is commonly referred to as the Tiger’s Nest.
The shrine also has a large mural depicting the guru’s eight manifestations – from lion to lotus king to knowledgeable yogi to wrathful lord. This is one of the holiest sites in Bhutan.
Next we visited the Shrine of the Self Speaking Guru. Legend has it that the statue of the guru was sculpted at Punakha Dzong and taken to the foot of the cliff at Taktsang. The statue is supposed to have spoken, “Do not worry, for someone shall carry me to Taktsang!” The statue was miraculously transported, thus explaining how the temple got its name. It was quiet in this temple and we sat for 15 min on the silk carpet taking in our surroundings, stretching and meditating.
The last shrine we visited was dedicated to the deity of prosperity, Guru Namse. This golden image had multiple offerings laid before it, mostly food and multi-colored rich cakes. Rice cakes are sculpted by monks on behalf of families praying for karma and prosperity, often on important occasions like marriage, birth and death.
Our feet were cold from walking without shoes on the cold rock so we booted up, took one last view from the temple terrace and began the hike down.
We walked down the steps, across the suspension bridge and then began one of the more grueling parts of the hike, walking back up the hundreds of steps to the adjacent mountain.
The only saving grace was that by this time of day, the monastery was no longer in shadow and we got some amazing pictures from the opposite cliff.
We hiked fairly quickly once we made it to the long downhill stretch. We stopped briefly at the prayer wheel for a final spin of good karma. There were hardly any people on the trail, the weather was beautiful, the views spectacular so besides tired knees the hike down was quite pleasant. By the time we reached the parking lot, our fitbits showed we had walked about 6.5 miles.
We stopped for lunch; the usual fare of chicken, rice and noodles but we ate well given all the energy we burned. The restaurant wall was decorated with the ‘magic thunderbolt’ to ward off evil spirits and invoke the gods of fertility and prosperity.
On our way back to the hotel, we had the clearest view yet of the high snow capped peak of Mt. Jhomolhari, Mountain of the Goddess. Jhomolhari is 24,035 ft high and is on the border between Tibet and Bhutan. It has only been summitted six times, mostly from the Tibetan side; since 2003, the Bhutanese do not let mountaineers climb above 6000 ft; mountains have great spiritual significance in Bhutan and it is considered disrespectful of local beliefs to climb. We headed back to the hotel satisfied with a great day of hiking!
*Please note that all interior photos are taken from Guide to Taktsang, the Tiger’s Lair, purchased in Bhutan bookstore.