Retired Nomads Part 4: Paro Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest Monastery)

Thursday Oct 30, 2025

It poured rain all night long. We knew Tom & Cathy weren’t doing the hike if it was raining, but we were going come “hell or high water” and well, it was a bit of both.

Paro Taktsang is one of the most famous monasteries in Bhutan. There are 13 Taktsang or "tiger lair" caves in which Padmasambhava meditated. This site has been recognized as a sacred place and was visited by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1646. t is worth hiking all the way there to explore one of the top 10 monasteries in the world. It is perched on the side of a cliff 900m above the Paro valley floor while 9840 ft (3,000m) above sea level. It is said that Guru Rinpoche arrived here on the back of a tigress and meditated at this monastery and hence it is called ‘Tiger’s Nest’.

Here is the description of the hike:

The hike to the monastery can be broken down into 3 stages. The first stage is the trek from the base of mountain up to the Tiger’s Nest Cafeteria which is situated on a rocky outcrop across a ravine from the monastery. It’s a well-defined trail that ascends through a pine forest and passes several prayer wheels and chortens (Buddhist shrines). Horses can be arranged for this leg at an extra cost.

At the cafeteria you can stop for some tea / coffee amidst excellent views of the monastery.

The 2nd stage of the walk is from the Tiger’s Nest Cafeteria to the lookout opposite the monastery. At this point some may be content to snap photos and then return to the cafeteria.

The 3rd stage is the trek/climb down the 475 steps in the cliff face to the bottom of the ravine which crosses over a stream and waterfall before the path again ascends another 300 odd steps to the entrance of the monastery.

We had a 7:30 start, so we were up early for breakfast which turned out to be horrible. The scrambled eggs were pretty raw, and it was an English breakfast, so it included grilled tomatoes and beans. I should have had them make more eggs as the only thing I ate was 3 pieces of toast. Not enough food to do this hike. (that was mistake number 1)

We made the trek back up to the cottage as I wanted to change the layer I had on the top. We put on our rain pants, and we trekked back down to meet Tashi.

Tashi had a backpack full of water and things and was so helpful on the hike. The other guides we encountered, and fellow hikers were encouraging us. There was a lot of mud and running streams of water and many rocks to balance on to get from point A to point B.

We stopped at a rest stop part way up and a 30-year-old sat next to me on the bench, and she said she was dying. She was tired and out of breath. She was doing the hike by herself with her guide. I told her I was 72 and she asked what I ate growing up since I was doing the hike and not suffering as much as she was. (at least at that point)

The monastery is at an elevation of 10,240 feet and, we should have taken the altitude meds as I was out of breath and stopped often. In hindsight we should have taken the horses to the café. (those were mistake numbers 2 & 3)

the parking lot of the Tiger's Nest

we should have taken the horses

Tashi & umbrella

it was a muddy mess

Nature never did betray a heart that loved her - it says Keats, but I think it's Wordsworth

prayer wheels right before the rest stop

just need to hike up this little hill

We finally made it to the café which didn’t have much. I was hoping for a sandwich or some kind of carbs and protein. I grabbed 2 of the driest cupcakes and a Coke and Greg got a Coke and a scone type thing. If, we could have seen the Tigers Nest from there we would have turned around, but with the fog, clouds and rain it was a white-out.

So, we continued to the monastery and that part is easier than the first half. It was more going down to come back up and back and forth, but not as steep as the first part.

We caught our first glimpse of it, and it brought tears to my eyes. It was like it was meant to be as the clouds cleared a bit long enough to get some half decent photos. Then, quickly it turned back into a white-out.

back on the trail

there were people taking selfies under the sign (meant for the actual temple, not this area, so photos were OK

first glimpse of the monastery

Once we got there, he took us to the 3 most important temples as the rest were similar to ones we had already seen, and it was getting late in the day.

On the way back down, I started feeling nauseous and I vomited a little. I just had no fuel in the tank without sufficient food. Of course, we had to go down, so I kept going. Tashi mixed an energy drink, and that helped a lot. (basically, just sugar water) I drank at least 2 of those slowly and another on the way down.

When we reached the café, we ate their buffet which helped. At this point I was doing much better and Tashi needed to help me less. (he was great at pulling me up a hill or helping me down hills and on rocks crossing the streams) At some point, I turned around and Greg was nowhere in sight. Tashi goes to look for him, and Greg had fallen backwards and was getting up. His legs were wobbly from the butt on down and he couldn’t stand without falling backwards.

Since I was doing better and was fine on my own, Tashi helped Greg the rest of the way down to the parking lot. At least we weren’t both having issues at the same time. When he went to get the vehicle, he led Greg to a bus to hold onto the mirror. After standing there a bit, Greg was fine and could walk on his own. We both said it was a group effort as there were times when Tashi slipped and we caught him and he us.

I was never so glad to see a parking lot in my life! It was definitely the hardest thing we have ever done. I’m sure without the on-and-off pouring rain (it always was at least drizzling) and a decent breakfast we would have done much better. It normally can be done in about 5 hours, and we took the entire day and had our lunch up there. (around 8 hours)

There were lots of birds that would have been great to see better and I’m sure the views are spectacular when not obscured in fog, clouds and rain. It was also kind of cold, so being wet and cold wasn’t fun either.

Back at the hotel we still had all the steps and the long haul up to our cottage only to find that housekeeping had not been there and we were soaking wet and just wanted a shower. We weren’t told that to have housekeeping we should have left our key at the front desk. They sent a team of like 6 people with 2 packs of Oreos, a couple of sodas and towels.

We ate the Oreos and some peanut butter crackers that we had and got showered for dinner at 7:00. It started with a big plate of hot and crispy French Fries and then family style chicken, cheesy potatoes and chiles, cauliflower, pasta and chocolate ice cream sundaes. It was nice catching up with Tom & Cathy and talking about our days.

We made the trek back up to the cottage and crashed and burned until morning.

Tomorrow, we go to Paro International Airport for the flight to Bangkok.

Friday Oct 31, 2025 – Hotel to airport transfer

It was still pouring rain on the drive to the airport, which was a concern since as I mentioned before conditions have to be pretty perfect to take off and land at the Paro International Airport. Breakfast was much better this morning at the hotel. It really was worst lodging of the trip (so far) due to all the step up and down between all buildings and the long hike to the cottages. The staff here was awesome it was just the accommodations that were not great with stained sheets and all the other issues.

Just a few notes on Bhutan:

Our phone plan didn’t cover Bhutan, so we had to keep our phones in airplane mode. (people talked about hundred and thousands of dollars in phone bills)

Bhutan has no traffic lights as they use cooperative driving.

We joked that Bhutan must mean “the land of many steep and uneven steps”

the parking lot of the hotel before driving to the airport

At the airport all flights were delayed due to weather. They were bringing out extra benches for people to sit. I found a plaque of the Tiger’s Nest that I felt I earned, so I bought it.

We thought we would have a long day of waiting and maybe not even get out today, but all of a sudden, they announced our flight. Apparently, it was already there and waiting and the other flights were waiting for their planes to arrive. (which may not have happened today)

It was a direct flight with a stop in Kolkata where we sat on the plane for around 45 minutes. We took the shuttle to the hotel in Bangkok.

We finally had reliable internet to get our arrival cards for Thailand. (even though we had gotten one for the last pass through earlier on the trip we still needed one since we technically left the airport) We ate a Thai dinner chicken satay and green curry chicken at the hotel.

Later, we took the tunnel from the hotel to the airport for a 7/11 for snacks and drinks and duct tape. (Greg's suitcase's handle was falling apart)

We were at a kiosk buying a coke and a water they didn’t take credit cards, and we had no Thai baht and the young lady behind us said to add it to hers and she’d buy it. Wow how sweet of her! We thanked her profusely.

Back at the hotel we had ice cream that was served with a fork. Earlier we got cake and we received spoons. We got repacked after our luggage dried from all the rain earlier. We were still sore from the hike.....