While our entire trip to Bhutan had so far been amazing, and something I wasn’t even sure we were going to be able to pull off given that the country was just getting ready to open up for tourism after covid, I knew that the hike to Tiger’s Nest Monastery was rightfully going to be the capstone of the trip.
Before heading to the monastery, we first drove past it to see if we could catch a glimpse of Jomolhari. On the way we passed the Paro dzong, an imposing fortress rising from the valley floor. Jomolohari is not the highest mountain in Bhutan, but it has a visibly iconic peak and is the centerpiece for another spectacular trek that I may try to do one day. We were in luck and managed to see its top from the side of the road.
We backtracked to the monastery and started our hike from the parking lot which was at an elevation of ~8,500 feet. The clouds had parted and we could see the monastery high on the mountain. It looked so far away!
The trail went past three water-powered prayer wheels and then sharply turned up. While there were a few level spots it was pretty much uphill until we got to the top of the steps located at ~10,300 feet. While it was possible to glimpse the monastery through breaks in the foliage from various points along the way, it wasn’t until we got to the steps that we saw the iconic view of the monastery that one sees in postcards.
Then it was down a few hundred feet (all steps). As I neared the bottom, I could see a bridge and a set of steep steps leading up to a temple built deep in the crevices of the mountain. A waterfall came into view, tumbling down the rocks and under the bridge to the valley floor, way down below us.
The bridge was sort of marked the halfway point of the steps because after going down, we now had to climb back up a few hundred feet on the other side of the rock face to get to the monastery. Thank goodness I was already acclimatized and in decent shape! The monastery, which is really comprised of several temples, is at about 10,200 feet so it’s definitely not easy to get to.
When we reached the main landing there were already several groups of people ahead of us. We had to take off our packs and put everything away into lockers. No photos were allowed at this point. We walked up a small flight of steps and then waited to enter the first temple that has a cave. From there we walked up a steep set of steps to see the next temple. I poked my head into a third temple that contained large statues of the gods. We spent a few minutes admiring the views before going back down to the first level to retrieve our things.
We returned the way we came, going down the steps towards the waterfall before heading back up the steps on the other side. Talk about a Stairmaster workout!
Once we reached the top of the steps it was all downhill—it seemed a lot steeper than I remembered on the way up. We stopped at the cafe, which is the halfway point of the hike, to have tea and cookies while soaking in the views of the monastery and route we had just taken. Looking at monastery on its rocky perch, I couldn’t believe we had just been there and back.
Rested, we continued for another 30 minutes before reaching the bottom. Back inside the van, happy and still hungry, we headed off for our special farmhouse lunch.
Read about the rest of my Bhutan trip here.
Coda
The hike to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery was definitely the highlight of the trip. Having read about it and seen so many pictures of the iconic temples perched precariously on the cliff, seeing it in person did not disappoint.
Making the journey was an accomplishment in its own right—it’s not a walk in the park given the elevation gain on top of the altitude. I’m glad I did this after doing the trek to Everest Base Camp and filled with gratitude that I was able to fit this into my itinerary.