Resting our weary legs as we climb up to the magnificent Tiger's Nest

Some of Bhutan’s history is not clearly documented due to the remoteness of the country, the lack of historical records and the rather obscure relationship between Bhutanese buddhism and mythology. Nowhere is that more clear than at Taktshang Goemba, or Tiger’s Nest Monastery, perched high on a cliff face in the upper Paro Valley. Its a tough two hour hike straight up the mountain to get there and we raced up it on our last full day in Bhutan.

The beginning of the walk up to the monastery didn't seem too bad....

This amazing monastery, which is seemingly stuck to the side of a cliff 900 metres above the Paro Valley, is embedded in Bhutanese mythology when it was founded in the 8th century by Guru Rinpoche, who is largely credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan and who flew to the spot on the cliff on the back of a tiger.  The current monastery was built in the 16th century, but largely rebuilt only 10 years ago after a major fire. 

Pine trees and prayer flags - where California and Bhutan meet

Not trying to separate fact from fiction, and in any case that would spoil a good story about the most sacred site in Bhutan, we made the two hour 900 metre vertical climb up the pilgrim track to see first hand this amazing site.  The trail was very steep, mainly up a ridge which had no steps and had difficult footing in places.  Some people hired horses to take them up and this added to the dust but we were constantly rewarded with magnificent views of the valley below and the monastery clinging to the mountain above. 

Getting near the top with this once-in-a-lifetime experience

After more than two hours on the hottest day of our trip we made it to 3,100 metres and reached the front gate to this amazing structure.  Our guide Taupo took us up and through the monastery, including a stop in the small cave turned temple that was the most religiously significant spot in all of Bhutan.  It was a special moment for sure, chanting monks, burning incense, the realisation that we were precariously perched on this extreme rock face, amazing stuff. 

The Tiger's Nest monastery on a cliff 900 metres straight up from the valley floor

Going down was much easier

We reluctantly began retracing our steps down the mountain, still madly taking photos of the monastery and prayer flags spanning the canyon.  We both felt numb by our experience and truly honoured to have had the opportunity to visit such an extraordinary site.  Taupo told us this was his 53rd visit to Tiger’s Nest Monastery and our driver Mithu, who was previously a monk at the Paro Dzong, that night estimated he had been to the monastery over 60 times.  For us it was a once in a life time experience and we were grateful for it.

A deeply religious setting at the 7th century Kyichu Lhakhang Monastery

Back to the valley but with more to see, we headed to a 7th century temple called Kyichu Lhakhang which matches its sister temple in the Bumthang Valley we visited a few days earlier and was built at the same time.  We walked into the main temple, dark and burning of incense, to find about 70 monks reciting ageless hymns from huge ancient books as part of what turned out to be an auspicious religious day.  The ongoing constant hum of the monks sitting on the temple floor rhythmically reading these verses was quite moving.  When we went back outside it seemed only proper to spin a few of the 108 prayer wheels that surrounded this ancient historical complex.

The Paro Dzong with commanding views of the Paro Valley

Up to the National Museum overlooking Paro, now found in a new building after the earthquake in September 2011 damaged the 17th century watchtower over the dzong that previously housed the museum.  We enjoyed this small and simple presentation and it helped us appreciate some of the disparate components of Bhutan’s history, geography, flora and fauna that we’ve enjoyed so much.

Prayer wheels are part religion, part history, part art

Finally we made our way to the Paro Dzong, built in the 17th century to defend the valley, sitting on the hillside overlooking the river and the town of Paro.  The dzong had recently  had some sections repainted and was sparkling, proudly showing off its role as the current home to the district’s administration as well as a place of worship for hundreds of monks (our driver Mitthu was a monk here for 12 years).  The Cypress wood floorboards of the temple, well worn and smoothed by thousands of monks’ bare feet, were said to be 220 years old. 

Last glance at our last dzong - every country should have them

Our final impressions of the five dzongs we saw – stunning in size, scope, design and intent but most importantly they were impressive in that they are still actively used and an important part of the local community.  They are living breathing pieces of history and a fabulous part of Bhutan’s culture.

One of the aspects of Bhutan, possibly the only aspect, that we haven’t been totally enamoured with is their food.  Bhutan is known for not having very interesting national dishes and we knew in advance many of our meals in the tourist hotels would be ‘dumbed down’ to meet bland western palettes. 

The last supper - dinner with Taupo and Mithu on the last night

But our taste buds have been toughened from four years in Bangkok and we wanted to taste as much local food as possible.  This wasn’t as easy as it seems because our meals were included in our daily fees and our guide would pre-book meals at the hotel or qualifying restaurants along the way.  And the dishes were almost always the same – potatoes with chillies, chillies with cheese, red rice with chillies, beans with chillies, baby ferns (yes – ferns) with chillies and maybe if we were lucky some chicken (with chillies).  We loved the chillies but sheesh, we were constantly on the look out for variety. 

That night we told Taupo we wanted to have our last meal in a local restaurant instead of the usual hotel buffet.  This caused him some organisational headaches because it has to be part of our pre-paid package (on a similar night in Thimphu we actually ate in a local restaurant and paid for it ourselves!).  But he organised it and we had a superb dinner in a local restaurant with him and Mitthu.  The two of them had served us well over the last week and we were grateful for their professional  and personal standards.

Surprise bonus - airplane views of Mt. Everest hovering about the clouds

The next morning we reluctantly caught our Druk Air flight back to Bangkok, sitting on the right side as Taupo recommended, and we were rewarded with great views of Mt. Everest in the distance as it rose above the clouds.  A great final touch to our Bhutan holiday.

Colourful prayer flags are a feature everywhere you go in Bhutan

Would we recommend Bhutan to our friends?  Our first response of course is an overwhelming yes because it is such a unique and special place to visit.  But the issue is more nuanced than that.   In order to see enough of Bhutan to get a full picture it means enduring, if that’s the word, many hours of driving on poorly maintained mountain roads to get to such gems as Punakha (with the best dzong in the country), Trongsa and the Bumthang Valley.  These places, especially Bumthang Valley, are not easy to reach and a combination of endurance, patience and curiosity is the key to success.  If you have the time, budget and disposition then unquestionably Bhutan rewards you with far more than you could have ever expected.