Blogs from Taktshang Goemba, Paro, Bhutan, Asia
November 22nd 2009
Today we hiked to Takstang, the most famous and the most beautiful monastery of Bhutan. There are no buses from Paro so we took a taxi (Rs 200 for a drop and Rs 600 for a return trip). The trek starts from a village approx. 12 kms from Paro. It is an easy 2 hour trek uphill to Takstang from here. The trail is loaded with stupendous views of the beautiful Takstang perched on a rock 500 m from the valley floor. As you keep climbing up you start getting the panoramic views of the Paro valley below. Exactly halfway through the trek is a government of Bhutan managed cafeteria with neat benched placed on a small platform with unhindered views of Takstang. Without doubt a beautiful place for that hot cuppa tea. But the tea ... read more
May 2nd 2008
Bhutan: Chapter One As I think I mentioned previously, arrival in Bhutan was delayed by almost a whole day due to a flight change. This affected those of us coming from Delhi and from Kathmandu - which proved to be 6 out of 8 of us. As a result, day one was anything but a "rest day" as we were picked up at the airport, given a welcome cup of tea, threw our stuff in our hotel room and rushed off to go to the Tiger's Nest Monastery. The walk up to Tiger's Nest was part of our preparation for the trek ahead, and was pretty challenging - about 1000M ascent almost straight up. But the walk was so worth while. The Monastery somehow clings to the side of a steep cliff and seems to dangle ... read more
Crouching Tiger? No Sir, Flying Tiger, Sir
Published: July 28th 2006Asia » Bhutan » Paro » Taktshang Goemba
September 12th 2005
8 am. I am tired, my vision is blurred and I want to lie down. But it is a fantastic sunny day, perfectly suited for our trip to Taktshang Goemba, one of the highlights of this trip for sure. Legend has it that when Guru Rinpoche was out flying on his tigress he saw this really nice spot for some meditation and landed on this steep cliffside some 800 meters above the Paro Valley and sat down to cleanse his mind of all thoughts. Like most places where the holy persons have meditated, it became revered and later the place for a chorten, filled with relics and artefacts. In this particular case a monastery was erected around this very chorten and it now clings to the side of the mountain like an outstanding piece of architechture. ... read more
