Picture of At the foot of Tiger Nest Monastery, some 700 metres higher (Taktsang, Bhutan)

Start of the trail to Tiger Nest Monastery

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The prime attraction of the country, it is hard not to be awed by the Tiger Nest Monastery: a spectacular location, views, and history. The hike up makes for a good exercise.
After we had crossed the bridge over the river Paro Chhu, the guide pointed to somewhere high above us. I had to duck to see what he was trying to show as I was sitting on the back seat. There it was: high above us, amazingly stuck to the face of the vertical cliff, I could see white buildings - Tiger Nest, or Taktsang Goempa, as it is often called. Soon thereafter, we arrived at the parking lot where we would leave our driver with the car. The guide and I took some water, and prepared for another fast uphill hike. Soon after we left, we felt the strength of the autumn sun in our neck. On one of the early steeper parts, we came across a guide we had seen several times before, on his way down. We stopped to chat, and he advised us taking the shortcut, which we could actually start right where we were. We did not have to think about the idea, and soon were sweating even more than before, as the shortcut almost by definition was a lot steeper than the main path. As I was leading the climb, at one point I thought to see steps leading even steeper uphill, and as we were trying to conquer Tiger Nest fast, I did not hesitate and worked my way up. After a few minutes, I found myself struggling through bushes and trees, holding on to roots sticking out of the dry soil.
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