THERE IS LITTLE THAT CAN COMPARE WITH A WALK in the woods, birdsong and pine scent filling the air. When the destination is Taktsang Lhakhang, the famous Tiger’s Nest monastery, even the two-hour climb becomes only a minor obstacle. Every tour in Bhutan seems to schedule Tiger’s Nest for the last day, saving the best for last and giving guests a chance to acclimate to the 3000-meter elevation.
The trailhead was a mob scene of hikers from all over the world. Some, like Rene, would ride the sturdy ponies while most would huff and puff their way up at least to the cafeteria viewpoint. The inane banter and boasting at the trailhead was soon replaced by heavy breathing and not a little complaining. We took it slow, happy to be on our own, stopping when we heard interesting birds or found a photogenic spot. Even so we reached the Tiger’s Nest in the “allotted” two hours feeling pretty good and fueled by Snickers and our purloined bananas.
The goal
We met Rene near the cafeteria. He and his noble steed must have passed us on the horse trail while we were scrambling up the people route. We didn’t see Keiko and Pam until we were on our way down but they made it to the best viewpoint.
Rene the kid rides again
The view of Tiger’s Nest just gets better and better the higher you go. What first seemed like power lines turned out to be criss-crossing prayer flags strung across the gorge, the multi-hued pennants billowing skyward in the freshening wind.
Mesmerizing prayer flags
I have no idea where all the people who started out ended up but we had the trail pretty much to ourselves on the 2000-foot descent. Folks tend to forget that the return trip can be more painful than the ascent and my quadriceps were quivering by the time we reached the parking lot. Our box score for today reads 3 ½ hours, 2000 vertical feet, three new birds, four liters of water, two Snickers, four bananas and two big smiles. What a way to finish our time in Bhutan!
