There are many youtube videos and posts on climbing Tiger’s Nest or Taktsang as it is locally known. Some are accurate, many are not. Some say it’s tough, some say not….how fit do you need to be? How long will it take? Do you need a guide? I failed once before in 2019 when I had the flu and could not complete the climb. This time I was in good condition and determined to make it to the monastery that is so famous, the Tiger’s Nest. We engaged a local guide and driver and you would be well advised to do so….you can certainly climb up by yourself but entry to the monastic temples is only with a guide. We were staying at the Le Meridian in Paro and we paid USD150 for the guide, driver, pick up and drop off at the hotel and admission charges. This also included pickup for the airport dropoff when we departed the next day.
What time should you start? This was spring time in Bhutan and the morning temperatures were about 5C. You can obviously start anytime to suit you but do yourself a favour and get to the base of the mountain to start the climb by 630am….less people, cooler and less sunny on the return. We were picked up at 6am and were at the ticket counters by 630am. One of our group of senior citizens opted to go up halfway by horse/mule back; you are led by a horse guide to the half way point, the cafetaria which affords great views of Taktsang. The rest of us opted to hike up…this takes about 10 minutes more than the horse.
At about 645am, we were at the foot of the mountain where the ticket office and toilets are….the sun was just rising…so Paro is at 2300m and Taktsang is about 700m higher at 3000m….our Samsung Health tracker said the start point was about 2500mfasl and Taktsang was at about3100m. These were the ponies at the start of the trailAs we started our upward ascent, these novices had just descended the mountaina good start to the trek was the presence of white throated laughing thrushes..white throated laughing thrush displaying my bird guide Sonam Dorji had told me that the climb was in coniferous forest and that the birding was not very good….but this sign suggested otherwise…and we did see a reasonable number of birds which made the climb more interestingJust at the start of the trail is a prayer house…within which the prayer wheels were turningThis is the typical trail terrain…rock and root strewn dirt trail…some have advocated the use of trekking poles but we didn’t find them necessary…besides we were already laden enough with a bottle of water and a camera each…and up and up we went…the views were stunning and the weather coolA common sight were locals carrying their children up the mountain! As if the trek was not tough enough! We were told by our guide that Bhutanese families believed that their children would receive blessings when they reached the monastery
So how tough was this early part of the climb? We had been making steady but slow progress up the mountain with an occasional stop to admire the view or birds and take photos…so we didn’t feel too bad at this stage….after about 1 hour 10 minutes we reached our first waypoint….the cafetaria.
after an hour, our first welcome glimpse of the cafetaria in the distanceThe well appointed cafetaria where rest rooms are available and we refueled with energy drinks. For those who are not inclined to climb the whole way to the monastery, they can get a pretty good view of Taktsang from here and then descend. This was where I stopped in 2019 in my previous failed attempt to climb it.the view from the balcony of the cafetaria…you can just see the monastery building at the top of the mountain oppositethis was our first reasonable view of Taktsang across the valley from the cafetaria..unfortunately the mist and smoke from nearby forest fires made the view murkya smoke covered Taktsang sitting atop a mountain across the valley….it looked pretty daunting! a pretty rufous sibia posed at the cafetaria.
After half an hour’s rest and refueling, we set off again, not really knowing what to expect….initially it was more of the same as we had encountered in the lower reaches…hilly dirt trails…
the flora started to change with these lichena yellow billed blue magpie kept us companyand then in a brilliant flash of colour, the magnificent Mrs Gould’s sunbird showedMrs Gould’s sunbirdbrown fronted titthe track was still challenging and just when we were flaggingafter 45min, our guide said it’s going to be easy now….the trail flattens out…..and it did for about 15 to 20min it was easier….This wall is a landmark you will see about 45 minutes after leaving the cafetaria…..if you walk on to the railing you will be able to get your first close up view of Taktsang…first close up view of Taktsang from the railings….you forget your aching muscles when you see this at eye level!Stunning view of Taktsang through the foliage!There is a little house where you can sit and enjoy the view…we lingered for about 15 min to catch our breath and take pixTiger’s nest monasteryTaktsang in its full glory..postcard shotJust as we felt that we’d done it, our guide said let’s go to the monastery…you can see the staircase leading down from this viewpoint….this is arguably the most challenging part of the climb…this concrete stairway is steep with big steps and goes all the way down to a bridge at the foot of a waterfall…..and then you have to climb all the way back up to the monastery on another steep stairway…..This is the way down that we were heading….returning visitors are coming back up…you can see the stone bridge at the bottomthe stone bridge the concrete stairs leading down to the bridge..looking back from the bridge to the viewpointthe waterfall adjacent to the bridge….A little forktail hopped beside the waterfallsome snow pigeons rested above the fallsand on we climbedso near and yet so far….taktsang beckoning..here you see the stone steps leading up to the monastery…high steps…and many steps! This was probably the toughest part…it was steep, it was long…it took us about half an hour to go up these steps….the steps near the monastery
past this archway..nearly thereFinally at about 1030am we arrived at the main entrance where you have to store your mobile phones and cameras and use the washrooms! The washrooms are directly behind the flag in the foreground…and you enter the monastery from the left side of the toilet building in this photo…the Taktsang complex is made of several buildings joined together…no photography is allowed inside at all…period. There are 9 temples in all within, and we were shown eight of them…the last one is in another building not easily asccessible. Oh and did I mention that there were more high steps even as you step into the monastery? They were still difficult as we had climbed so many steps up to this point but somehow we managed it.
We spent about an hour seeing these eight temples which were very ornate and beautiful and there were very friendly devotees and other visitors who explained things and showed us how to pray to the Guru Rinpoche the founder of Tigers Nest, according to the legend.
At 1130, we started our return trip…back down to the bridge….and up this very long and narrow stairway back to the viewpoint…count the steps!It took us nearly 1.5 hours to get back to the cafetaria….a sight for sore eyes and thighsBy this time it was about 1pm and the sun was blazingly hot…..you can see Taktsang way up high across the valley…we refueled with and had some cookies to restore our sugar levels….this cafetaria halfway up the mountain is a godsend ..it means you don’t have to carry as much water as you might otherwise need….remember you’re climbing and every gram you carry matters! We saw a number of people heading up the mountain at this time and it would have been taxing to say the least…hence our 6am start from the hotel.On the way down, there was time to see a few more birds…here a lovely brown parrotbilland a streak breasted scimitar babblerafter another hour, we finally reached the bottom about 2.30pm, 7.5 hours after we startedAnd as looked back on the mountain, you can see how far away Taktsang is….we had been up there barely 3 hours earlier
So there you have it….3 not very fit travellers, well above middle age, we did Taktsang in 7.5 hours at leisurely pace, birdwatching and stopping frequently for breaks. Was it easy? No. Was it difficult? somewhat but manifestly doable.
This is our trail up and down tiger’s nestand these are the numbers
So, 7.5 hours, 9km, 600m in elevation later we were delighted that we succeeded in climbing Taktsang…doing one of the places you must do!
The Natural Traveller 
So useful, thanks!