Climbing to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery
Summary
A stunning location and really is a must visit if you’re one of the few people to visit this hidden Himalayan kingdom
Top tips:
- You’ll need 5/6 hours for the overall hike – we started at 9am, took around 1.5 hours to the monastery, and were back down before 2pm. It’s steep in parts, but very manageable – around 15,000 steps and 150 flights climbed according to the iphone
- Halfway stop – there’s a nice spot to take a break and have some tea, cakes etc, plus some cracking views, around halfway up
- Highest elevation is around 3,120m / 10,230 feet, so should be low enough to avoid any altitude sickness, but also good to help you with acclimatising for some of the other hikes across Bhutan
- The Monastery itself is cool – clearly the surrounding views and views of the monastery are the highlight, but the monastery itself is very cool. Loads of hidden rooms to check out and the courtyards have super relaxed feel
- Its probably the “busiest” place for tourists you’ll find in Bhutan
- More detailed guide – quite a comprehensive guide on hiking to the Tiger’s Nest here from the guys from EarthTrekkers
highlights
#1 The view of the Tiger's Nest from the top platform and seeing how just how much it hangs off the edge
#2 The 1.5 hour hike up to the Tiger's Nest itself. Beautiful countryside
#3 Checking out the beautiful Buddhist sites that are dotted all along the walk up to the Monastery
#4 Getting to explore some of the little houses and halls, in particular in the Tiger's Nest itself
Tips on Travelling in Bhutan
- You have to go with a Bhutanese agency, with a minimum tariff of USD250 per day. This sounds restrictive and expensive, but bear in mind that this includes all food, accommodation, transport, visas, entrance fees etc in the country and official guides, plus you don’t have to travel as part of a group and can arrange your own itinerary
- Also bear in mind why this minimum tariff is enforced – Bhutan is focused on environmental and cultural preservation, and this extends to tourism. Low volume, high value is their target; and it really does add to the experience being able to explore without the usual hoards of fellow tourists and the commercialised downsides we often bring
- Bhutan focuses on Gross National Happiness, rather than an economic Gross National Product. You’ll see this reflected in the cleanliness and quality of places you visit, and the general friendliness and pride of the local people
- We had a 7 day / 6 night trip through Bhutan with Bhutan Swallow Tail Travels and they were awesome, would recommend. USD1,400 per person, which, again, includes everything other than flights and discretionary spend. For the full details on the itinerary see this travel entry for – A week in Bhutan
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Religious Trips around the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone