I can’t seem to help it but each time I mention this place I call it the birds nest. My brain just doesn’t seem to allow tiger and nest to go together. Anyway on our second last day in Bhutan it was time for the big one that everyone had been waiting on and that hopefully we were now acclimatised for – The Tigers Nest officially called Taktshang Goembo. We had an early start and were on the road at 7am. It looked so far away starting off – it’s 4km straight up … I was anxious to start moving and check this place out.
You can take a horse up but all of our group decided to walk. The views as we climbed were beautiful and of course I kept taking shots of the monastery as it came more and more into view.
Halfway up there’s a stop called the cafeteria where you can have a bathroom break and some refreshments. There’s some prayer wheels to swing and It’s also a great spot for a photo of the monastery.
Continuing the climb it looked like we were nearly there but then we had to go down a load of steps only to come back up on the other side!!
In between the up and down there was a beautiful waterfall:
But we got there eventually and it was well worth it.
No photos were allowed once we got up there and we had to go through a security check and leave our bags in lockers before going inside. High tech security checkpoint!!:
We saw some really old temples and statues and after gazing out at the views below it was time to start the descent. It took half the amount of time to come back down and all of our tour group made it up and back with no problems which was a great achievement.
But our day wasn’t over yet we had another place to visit – Kyichu Lhakhang Temple. Built in 659 it is one of the oldest and is considered one of the most beautiful in Bhutan. At this temple they were having a festival and there was a huge table full of food offerings. The locals offered us some local “bread” that was made especially but it was literally like a brick!!
There were some great prayer wheels to swing here:
Back at hotel Olathang, after a little rest we watched a show by a national dance society. The costumes were amazing and some of the skits were interactive!
All round this was an amazing day!
odohertyelaine 