Tiger's Nest is the iconic photograph of Bhutan. It is another monastery built in the 17th century. According to Buddhist tradition, the Guru Rinpoche flew to this location back in the 7th or 8th century on the back of a tigress. He meditated in a cave for 3 months. This cave is now one of the most holy temples in Buddhism. The Tiger's Nest burned in 1998 and all the woodwork has been restored - and embellished.
There was some debate among the group as to the actual altitude of the Tiger's Nest (10,200 ft. - or 2300 ft above the valley floor) and how far we would have to climb. About half of us opted to ride horses or mules. We were put to shame by Edith, who is 78 and has now walked up twice in the past 3 years. Even Dick was able to get to the look-out under his own power. The views are spectacular and who knows how they managed to get those prayer flags strung over the chasm. This is the view from half-way donw the stairs. Thank good ness they have widened the staircase and added railings. No way could I have gotten down without the railings. You walk down one side of the chasm, cross a bridge at the foot of the waterfall and climb back up the other side. At 10k ft, you stop every few steps.
The horses will take you to the look out, but then there are still 400 hundred steps down and up to the monastery. No electronics allowed in the monastery, so no photos of the inside. The horses share thepath with the humans and travel in groups. I rode a mule. Some of the horses were a bit
The travel company had arranged for us to have lunch just down the path from the look out. There wa an unfortunate incident when one of the dogs bit a local woman who got to close to its food. We patched her up as best we could and tried to impress on her the importance of seeing a doctor ASAP, but who knows whether any one will follow up.
The hike down was rough on Michael's knees, but he made it.
OUr flight out tomorrow has been rescheduled to the afternoon. With only 3 flights a day, they can be flexible. We have heard that there is major flooding in Bangkok that is supposed to peak next week. Our hotel is not near the river, but it could put a crimp in my plans to get to teh fabric market. Chances are the boats are not running. We'll see.
There was some debate among the group as to the actual altitude of the Tiger's Nest (10,200 ft. - or 2300 ft above the valley floor) and how far we would have to climb. About half of us opted to ride horses or mules. We were put to shame by Edith, who is 78 and has now walked up twice in the past 3 years. Even Dick was able to get to the look-out under his own power. The views are spectacular and who knows how they managed to get those prayer flags strung over the chasm. This is the view from half-way donw the stairs. Thank good ness they have widened the staircase and added railings. No way could I have gotten down without the railings. You walk down one side of the chasm, cross a bridge at the foot of the waterfall and climb back up the other side. At 10k ft, you stop every few steps.
I think I shot these prayer flags from the terrace at the entrance to the monastery. I also shot a video which give a much better sense of the wind whipping through here.
This was shot on our way back up the steps. Later hour and better light.
The horses will take you to the look out, but then there are still 400 hundred steps down and up to the monastery. No electronics allowed in the monastery, so no photos of the inside. The horses share thepath with the humans and travel in groups. I rode a mule. Some of the horses were a bit
The travel company had arranged for us to have lunch just down the path from the look out. There wa an unfortunate incident when one of the dogs bit a local woman who got to close to its food. We patched her up as best we could and tried to impress on her the importance of seeing a doctor ASAP, but who knows whether any one will follow up.
The hike down was rough on Michael's knees, but he made it.
OUr flight out tomorrow has been rescheduled to the afternoon. With only 3 flights a day, they can be flexible. We have heard that there is major flooding in Bangkok that is supposed to peak next week. Our hotel is not near the river, but it could put a crimp in my plans to get to teh fabric market. Chances are the boats are not running. We'll see.
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