The night before I was to trek up to the Tiger’s Nest
monastery in Paro (also called Taktsang Lhakhang), we were out celebrating my
friend's birthday at an underground club. Dancing has always been our favourite
kind of fun activity. Trekking on the other hand is something none of us would
put in the same sentence with 'fun'. But we wanted to conquer this feat even
with our dismal fitness levels (read: considers walking to the kitchen as
exercise) as a self-enforced challenge. The next morning, we were up at 5am
excited and brimming with a can-do attitude. As expected; it was
short-lived.
We reached the floor of the valley and looked up to
see how far up the monastery was located. You see that white speck atop the
mountain in the photo below? That’s Tiger's Nest.
Now you understand why Guru
Rinpoche (Padmasambhava)—the Indian saint who came to Bhutan in 8th Century
AD—flew into this cave on the back of a tigress to subdue the evil spirits that
tormented the residents living in the vicinity. Yes, tigress. Unfortunately, we
couldn't get a tigress to ride on, so we settled on using our feet instead.
There are horses that carry people half way up, but it seemed scarier to be
atop a horse that missed a step (or simply sneezed), and fall off the edge of a
mountain than relying on our feet. So we set out to reach this monastery
perched impossibly at the edge of a cliff overlooking Paro Valley at the
dizzying height of 3,000 feet. All we had were two layers of woollens (since it
was almost -6 degrees), and basic essentials such as water, Gatorade and an
energy bar in a tiny bag strung along. We didn’t know we had forgotten
something extremely crucial to this trek, but I’ll get to that later.
As we climbed uphill, the road was fairly wide, which
brought an unexpected relief. We got more comfortable after the first half
hour. The sun began to rise and the views became more and more beautiful. Soon,
the unpaved road started to narrow a bit. The immense drop below wasn’t very
comforting either. The increase in altitude as we continued uphill left us
breathless quite often, slowing our pace. And it became hotter as we ascended.
Suddenly wearing three layers felt more a burden than a necessity. I huffed and
puffed (less comically than it sounds) most of the trek up; all the while
watching smiling Bhutanese walking past me as if they were strolling in a
garden. They were not only fit, they also appeared to be mentally tough having
experienced the extreme weather and altitude change a lot more than us
tourists. I had also heard a story about a man who completed the trek on his
stomach. But all I could think of was "please god, give me a magic flying
carpet or a tigress I can fly to the monastery on". #FitnessGoals be
damned.
At almost every bend, we found boards with messages
encouraging cleanliness and even dustbins for people to throw away their waste.
I really appreciated how much effort the Bhutanese make towards this.
A few minutes later, I heard the thumping of horses’
hooves. I had seen them carry several trekkers uphill, so it wasn’t entirely
odd. But then, something frightening happened. The horses it seems were let
loose by their caretakers and they came charging down at us. I shrieked not
only because I didn’t see them running at me, but also because there was no
place to take cover! I was literally hugging a craggy mountainside, since the
alternative was falling off of it. I composed myself after almost six or seven
horses ran by. It was shit scary.
We kept going for another hour, passing several prayer
flags fluttering in the wind, till we reached what seemed like our destination.
With a feeling of excessive relief, we walked a few steps ahead only to see the
monastery STILL at a distance; hanging at the edge of a flat vertical black
granite cliff. Pushing through the few ounces of energy we had left, we walked
ahead to find a long row of steps with a slim railing erected to prevent us
from falling deep into the ravine that lay below. After 15 minutes, which felt
like eternity, we finally made it to the entrance of the monastery.
We were asked for the one thing we didn’t know we
needed (remember that thing we forgot to pack?): the permit to Bhutan. You
could almost hear glass shattering under our feet realising we completed an
incredibly arduous trek, and saved our lives from horses running amok only to
not be allowed to step into this revered Bhutanese monastery. In that moment,
our plea was possibly heard by the looming gods surrounding us as my friend
removed a copy of our permits she had packed with her just in case we needed
it. We were indeed blessed.
Things to
remember
The trek takes about four to five hours to complete
for non-trekkers, and three hours for experienced trekkers. It all varies per
person.
Don’t forget your Bhutan permit. It’s a prerequisite
for entering the monastery.
There is a restaurant en route to the monastery that
also has toilets.
Try and wear trekking shoes if possible. I found them
to be very useful.
Make sure you have booked a cab to return to your
hotel from the floor of the valley in advance. You’re going to be super tired
once you descend. We didn’t do that and ended up waiting for a while before our
cab arrived. We also couldn’t get through to him due to poor network.
Most people advice you keep this trek for the last day
of your trip. I think it’s best to keep a day extra after the trek. It is quite
exhausting; you won’t really have the energy to do much after it.
A day before you head for the trek, be sure to check
the timings of the monastery. It’s open from 8am to 5pm, but they shut it
during lunch from 1pm till 2pm.
Lastly, the don’t permit any belongings inside the
monastery; no cameras also. They provide lockers for the same.
