The Tiger's Nest

Paro Taktshang 

10 Apr 2015 | From Jigme of Bhutan

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

Taktshang Goemba or Tiger's Nest Monastery was blessed and sanctified as one of Bhutan's most sacred religious sites. Taktsang Palphug Monastery more famous as Paro Taktsang is a Buddhist temple complex which clings to a cliff, 3120 meters above the sea level on the side of the upper Paro valley, Bhutan. It is one of the most famous touristic destinations of the country and the cultural icon of Bhutan. The main peculiarity of the monastery is its isolated location. It is only accessible by mountainous paths. It is a small monastery hung far up on a cliff overlooking a spectacular valley. It is also one of thirteen small monasteries or "tiger's lairs" where the Guru Rinpoche or "Precious Master" also known as the "Second Buddha" of Bhutan is said to have meditated.

As legend has it, Padmasambava landed at Paro Taktsang to meditate when he brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the seventh century. He is said to have arrived on a flying tiger which had recently been his Tibetan concubine. He then meditated in a cave high on the mountain for four months after which he subdued the local 'demons' and began the conversion of the Bhutanese to Buddhism.