Bhutan-5 Hikes

We had three different hikes in Bhutan. The first hike was to Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, a Buddhist temple in Bhutan built to bring peace and protect the country. We started the hike by crossing a suspension bridge. 

The trail had wonderful views of the valley and its terraced rice paddy fields.

There was a small shelter with a large prayer wheel along the trail. 

The Entry Gate for the Chorten. 

The Chorten was built in 2004 by Her Majesty The Queen Mother, Ashi Tshering. the exterior is in the form of a pagoda-like Chorten, while the interior consists of four stories containing images of the deities of mandalas of Vajarakilaya. 

Shoes off, no photos inside. We walked up the very steep and narrow stairs to get to the rooftop balcony. Wonderful views of the valley from above.

On the way down, we saw a farmer harvesting his crops, in the lower right of the picture.

You can see he is using a scythe. 

They also had scarecrows in the fields. A distance shot, and then an enlargement. 

Our second hike was in the Phobjikha Valley. Online, it is described as the Gangtey Nature Trail.

In the picture below, you can see the white horse I showed in my animal picture post. 

There were lots of wild horses. 

It was along this trail that we saw the endangered Black-necked Cranes shown in my animal picture post. Local entrepreneurs were selling paintings, painted rocks, and wood carvings decorated with Black-necked Cranes. 

There was a Mini-Chorten at this rise, with my fellow Go Learn travelers waving. 

On the trail, we came across this Art Gallery.

This one painting had amazing detail. The artist spent months on it. 

The edge of the gallery had a phallic sign, with hairy balls, pointing the way to the restroom.

And of course, there was a Chorten on the trail, with white Manidhar prayer flags behind it. 

The most famous site in Bhutan is Tiger’s Nest (Paro Taktsang), the iconic cliffside Buddhist monastery. According to legend, the Guru Padmasambhava flew to this location from Singye Dzong on the back of a tigress; hence the name Tiger’s Nest.

The monastery built on this site in the seventeenth century is located at an elevation of 3,120 meters (10,240 feet) above sea level. The strenuous trail to Tiger’s Nest is the most famous hike in Bhutan — more info on the hike from AllTrails.

When we started the hike, the mountain with the Tiger’s Nest monastery was shrouded in clouds. During the day, the clouds slowly parted, and I took pictures as we hiked up the mountain. 

Early on the trail, we passed a Chorten with a prayer wheel powered by a stream, ringing the prayer wheel bell. 

We walked past prayer wheels, both large and small. 

Partway up the mountain, there is a small cafeteria; this is the entrance gate to Taktshang Café.

We stopped there, and I took many pictures of Tiger’s Nest as the clouds slowly parted, revealing the monastery.

We arrive at the Viewpoint, our highest point on the hike. You can see from the elevation profile that we need to go downhill before the final climb to Tiger’s Nest. 

This is my favorite photo of the monastery, taken from the viewpoint at an elevation above Tiger’s Nest. 

There was a Chorten at the viewpoint. 

We hiked down the cliff, and we were looking up at Tiger’s Nest from across the ravine. 

In the gap between the two cliffs, there is a waterfall that flows into a sacred pool, and we can cross the creek by a bridge. 

From the monastery, I could see the trail on the other side of the ravine. Note the steep part near the top, below the two pine trees. 

It was a strenuous hike, but truly memorable. Most of our group was from Utah, and was somewhat acclimated to altitude; it helped that we had spent more than a week in Bhutan at higher elevation. Although two of our group members from sea level struggled somewhat, everyone was able to complete the hike. 

While I am proud of completing the hike to above 10,000 feet, on my way home I got pictures from my nephew and his wife who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (19,341 ft) on their 25th anniversary. But they are 25 years younger than I am! 

The hike to Tiger’s Nest was truly remarkable! A reprise of my favorite photo of Tiger’s Nest.