Tough trek to Tigers Nest Monastery in Bhutan
Our family was all excited to visit a place that is supposed to have high spiritual energy – the Tigers Nest Monastery at Bhutan.
For me it was also a test of my physical fitness level as I had heard lots about the tough trek to reach this place. We reached the base around 8am and brought two sturdy walking sticks, which really helped during the trek up the steep inclines.
There are horses which take you to the half way point cafeteria, and we noticed that many groups just took pictures at the half way point and walked down again.
Repeating the Buddhist chant ‘om mane padme hum’, walking steadily and silently I slowly made my way towards the upward direction, right up to the monastery that seemed to be perched at the edge of an almost vertical looking high cliff.
To reach the place, we need to first trek up a neighbouring hill to a point that is much higher than the monastery, then take a sidewards detour down a huge flight of steps to a point much below the monastery and then again finally take a fight of steps cut at the side of the rocky mountain to reach this edge of the cliff monastery.
We were first greeted with the sound of bells and running water, the fast moving stream which churns two huge prayer wheels from below, and which in turn have a protruding stick that keeps ringing a bell at intervals.. This was the reason of one of the frequent sights of Bhutan is seeing a small temple at the base of a running stream.
Because of my slow pace, the rest of the family were delayed. There were lots of colourful prayer flags and water rest points on the way.
The family had to take frequent long breaks at spectacular view points as they waited for me. I met a group of jovial Bhutanese who laughed along the way. Also we shared tips with another group of Kannada speaking tourists to make our trek more interesting.
We went up the steep sloped short cuts, and reserved the longer gradual gradient horses path to come down.
After the cafeteria point, the trek became comparatively easier, but the multiple up and down series of steps can really test your mettle.
Our first view is the monastery from our high point was literally breathtaking! As we walked up and down the flight if steps we just had to take pictures and videos to capture this magical moment for posterity. The smell of freshly cut grass by monks, the sound of the huge waterfall and strong winds, the fresh mountain air, the sight of spectacular views, the taste of holy water, all this was a feast to our senses.
Finally we reached the entrance doors to the monastery and the security insisted on depositing all our bags and phones in the lockers. Also we had to be in proper full sleeved formal attire, luckily we had borrowed jackets and lungis to cover ourselves properly.
Our guide gave us an explanation of the 9 temples in the complex – dedicated to the Buddha, Guru Rimpoche, his 8 manifestations, the other gods and goddesses of normal and dark forces. Guru Rimpoche is supposed to have landed here on his flying tigress and meditated here in a cave, that is opened only once a year. Basically the message is that we have to be good human beings and surrender to the blessings of the higher power!
The last temple that was closed to tourists has a legend behind it. Many centuries ago the huge metal idol of Guru Padmasambhava was brought by 4 strong men to the edge of the neighbouring mountain, but suddenly it became extremely heavy and impossible to carry. It was left there with a prophesy that years later a single human would carry it to its present cave, and the 9th temple was dedicated to that miraculous strong man.
Even though this temple was destroyed by fire due to the butter lamps in 1998, the gurus idol fell in the cave below and was saved. It was renovated with the grace of the Bhutanese king and was reopened to the public in 2005.
After soaking in the views from the edge of the cliff temple, we made our way back to the base, armed with some instant energy from dry fruits. It was tough to climb up the steps again in the hot scorching sun, but once we reached the neighbouring mountain, the slow walk downwards at least did not leave us panting!
We just had to do some local shopping for souvenirs at the base and finally left the place at 4.30 pm.
By 6.30 pm we rewarded our tired bodies with a new local experience of the hot stone bath. We immersed ourselves in a wooden tub filled with salts, herbs and heated with special hot rocks that are supposed to have minerals that relax the tired muscles with its medicinal properties.
As we hit the bed in exhaustion around 9pm we smiled with a sense of accomplishment of completing the visit to the Tigers nest monastery!
Son in 2018, do notice these simple smiling moments.Have a smiling year!
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