Taktsang Palphug Monastery also known as Tiger’s nest, Is a Himalayan Buddhist Sacred site located in the cliff side of the Upper Paro Valley, 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) to the north of Paro in Bhutan. Built in 1692. Tiger Nest is a beautiful monastery on the side of a mountain and looks like it is built into the mountain. The Monastery hangs on a precipitous cliff at 3,120 meters (10.240 feet) And about 900 meters (3000 feet) above the Paro Valley. The Monastery Building are built into the rock face. The monastery buildings consist of four main temples and residential shelters ideally designed by adapting to the rock (granite) ledges. There are total eight caves and four of them are easily accessible. According to legend, Guru Padmasambhava reached the temple site by flying on the back of a tigress.
The cave where Padmasmabhava first entered, riding the Tiger known as “Tholu Phuk’ and the original cave where he resided and did Meditation is known as the “Pel Phuk”. around the Taktsang Senge Samdup (stag tshang seng ge bsam grub) cave where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours in the 8th century
Getting there:
Tiger nest is located in the city of Paro, where Bhutan’s international Airport is located, Normally people do the tiger nest trip at the end of The Bhutan’s tour, since it gives tourists time to acclimate to the altitude in Bhutan. You can either hike a steeply uphill for 1.5 to 3 hours to get to the top or ride a horse 2/3 of the way. People suggests to take the Horse ride as it will save energy for 850 steps (both up and down) that you have to climb before you get to the entrance