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Illustration by Mary Kirkpatrick
The first time I hiked up to Paro Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest Monastery that’s suspended on the side of a cliff in Bhutan, I was six years old. It is a 6.4 kilometre round trip on a trail that winds up a mountain in the upper Paro valley. I walked up with my family and villagers who lived nearby.
The monastery is more than 900 metres above the trailhead, and sits 3,100 m above sea level. On that hike, my Mom told me to cling to the rocks and never look down. In those days, about 25 years ago, the trail didn’t have railings or even proper steps that now help the hundreds of visitors who arrive in Bhutan each year on a bucket-list or religious pilgrimage.
Paro Taktsang is a holy place where Guru Rinpoche, also known as the Second Buddha, mediated in the 8th century. Guru brought Buddhism to Bhutan and the story goes that he flew up here on the back of a tigress, which is why the monastery is also called the Tiger’s Nest in English. The first temple was built here in 1692. It looks so spectacular – like it is hanging off the cliff – that many visitors want to hike up and take a closer look. For many Buddhists, this is a sacred pilgrimage.
When Bhutan reopened after the pandemic in September, 2022, I was able to work as a tour guide again. On one of my first tours, I lead a group that included Canadian G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip. I was surprised to hear him say that Paro Taktsang should be among the seven man-made Wonders of the World. I was overwhelmed. This is my backyard – I climb to this Wonder at least once every month. Today, at age 32, I have probably made this hike a thousand times as a guide.
While it’s always meaningful to visit the temple, the climb is also just part of my job – it can be an exhausting trek, up and down switchbacks, that reaches 3,120 metres elevation. I’ve done it so many times. But for so many others it’s a rare experience, a tick to their bucket list, often a lifelong goal. So I don’t want to take it for granted.
Pilgrims have been coming here since the 8th century. For many, visiting that holy sacred site is something they need to do before they get too old to climb. Some people ride a donkey up to the halfway point, where a cafeteria offers a place to rest and get a closer view of the temple. From there, visitors must walk. (And yet my 96-year-old grandfather told me a story about how our mule Kezo once kept going and climbed the scary cliffs right up to the monastery to eat all the leftover veggies and tea leaves from the butter tea and milk tea monks served to visitors!)
Inside Paro Taktsang there are 11 shrines and I always take my guests to the most holy ones where we meditate inside for a few minutes at each. We’ll pass the butter-lamp offering room and look at the den where the tigress is said to have spent the rest of her years.
Buddhists also head up to the monastery as a retreat and meditate up there for a month. It is far away from the hustle and bustle of life far below, an excellent place to concentrate on mindfulness and prayers. It is so quiet and calm in the mountains, which even visitors who just come for a few hours can experience as they look out over the Paro Valley.
I have led celebrities, corporate VIPs and ordinary travellers to the temple. My first celebrity guest was actor Alan Cumming. When I narrated the temple’s story to him, he was moved and that made me feel so happy. He was adventurous and fit and hiked up quickly. Other guests can take longer – “Mel from Melbourne” told me that if she can do that hike within six hours then anyone can do it. (It usually only takes four hours return.) I still remember how one of my guests from London cried when she caught a glimpse of the Tiger’s Nest, saying how she dreamt of this monastery when she was just a child. This made me emotional, too.
Recently on the mountain, I came across a huge group of people from South East Asia ranging in age from 20 to 80 who came to Bhutan only to see the Tiger’s Nest Monastery. They had saved up for so long to visit that their guide and drivers made a huge effort to take care of them. A few times I saw a guide carrying a climber by piggyback.
I haven’t had to carry a guest yet but a few years ago, I led my youngest visitor to the monastery with her family. This six-year-old was so bored by the halfway point that I decided to tell her a story about Harry Potter and Prof. Dumbledore visiting the Tiger’s Nest to entertain her. It really made my little guest happy and the hike went much more easily.
Every time I head up to the Tiger’s Nest, I make sure I buy a bundle of chocolate bars for my guests (in case they need some instant energy) as well as a few packets of betel nuts to give to the monks, the temple security guards and other pilgrims. Betel nuts, or doma, is a key part of Bhutanese culture. The nuts are harvested from areca palm, ground and mixed with slaked lime, betel leaf and other flavourings such as cardamom. In the West you might carry wine to a dinner party, in Bhutan, our conversation starts with an offering of doma.
No matter how many times I come to the Tiger’s Nest, I always feel at peace when I reach the top. It takes time to get up here but prayers and offerings help me heal from the inside out. In one year, I lost my mother, she was just 52, and went through a divorce a few months after her death.
About halfway up the mountain, I look for it through the trees. As soon as I see the building, it reminds me how blessed I am in this life. For many, visiting Paro Takseng, the Tiger’s Nest, is a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I am lucky to do it so often.
Dorji Bidha lives in Paro, Bhutan