Overview
A 10km drive from Paro is the famous Tiger’s Nest Hermitage on the face of a sheer 3,120m-tall cliff. The Tiger’s Nest or Taktsang Monastery is without a doubt the most visited and the most photographed of all the monuments in Bhutan. Nestled above a beautiful forest of blue pine and rhododendrons, overlooking the Paro valley, the monastery is of tremendous religious significance to the Bhutanese. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche flew to this site on the back of a tigress to subdue a local demon and it was here that Buddhism took roots in Bhutan. The monastery was built in 1692 to honor and worship the Guru. The hike up to the Tiger’s Nest is give-or-take a two-hour ascent and, the view from the top, is well worth the climb.
Drugyel Dzong
Another site worth visiting while in Paro is Drugyel dzong or The Fortress of the Victorious Bhutanese. A 16km road passes up the valley to the ruins of this fortress-monastery, which was partly destroyed by fire in 1951. And although the fortress – built by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1646 to commemorate his victory over raiding and pillaging Tibetan armies – was raged by the fire, the ruins remain an impressive and imposing sight still.
