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— Tiger’s Nest and Paro: — We get an early start
to Tiger’s Nest to avoid the hot sun and any other tourists that may be there.
The morning is spent hiking (or riding a “bony pony”--you decide) up a forested
path to Taktsang Monastery, also known as Tiger’s Nest, Bhutan’s most famous
and scenic icon. (Robin wrote a story on Tiger’s Nest for Tashi Delek Magazine,
which is posted on the Rainbow Photo Tours web site.) The climb is steep
and takes about 2 hours to ascend comfortably and we will have our guides
to carry our photography gear and urge us on. An important place of pilgrimage
and refuge for more than 1200 years, Taktsang Monastery clings to sheer cliffs
two-thousand feet above Paro Valley, and from the most popular vantage points
on a rocky ledges directly across a chasm from it we will still need a 200
mm lens and a steady tripod to get tight photographs. As of 2004, after the
rebuilding from a fire, foreigners have permission to hike all the way to
Tiger’s Nest, visit some of the altar rooms and maybe get a grand tour from
Lam Renzin, the lama stationed there. We have become friends with Lam Renzin,
bringing him photographs from previous visits and other gifts such as a Swiss
Army multi-tool. In 2007 he requested we bring him a pair of binoculars
to look down and see who is coming to visit Tiger’s Nest--Robin delivered
them in 2008 so he might be watching our ascent.
This sacred place got its name when Guru Rimpoche rode there on the back
of a flying tiger and meditated in a cave behind the present-day monastery.
Sadly, in 1998, the central temple was destroyed by fire, leaving the country
in mourning for their holiest of spiritual places. But religious leaders
and the King quickly developed a plan to rebuild Taktsang and donations poured
in from Buddhist centers all over the world. Today, the magnificent temple
is completely rebuilt to its original glory. Tiger’s Nest is once again the
subject of cloud-shrouded posters that say, “Bhutan, Land of the Thunder
Dragon.”
Lunch halfway down the mountain at the “Cafeteria.” After lunch we descend
to the base of Taktsang where our cars will take us back to Nak Sel by way
of any place around Paro that you might have missed earlier. Tonight would
be a good night to luxuriate yourself with a hot stone bath and massage.
Dinner and overnight: Nak-Sel Resort
