No matter how many pictures you have seen of it: Anyone who gets out of the minibus in the west of the Kingdom of Bhutan and looks up at the Taktshang Goemba is fascinated. What a crazy idea to build a monastery in this granite wall, above a gorge that goes hundreds of meters deep.
And all because Guru Rinpoche meditated up there in a cave – for three years, three months, three weeks and three days, according to tradition, without eating or drinking. But when he arrived, the holy man made himself comfortable. He is said to have ridden up on the back of a tigress, hence the nickname: Tiger’s Nest.
Mules are waiting for the travelers, and even they would only make it halfway. So it’s better to walk. The path is wide and paved with wooden steps and leads up between pine, oak and rhododendrons. Colorful prayer flags are strung all over the place, and pilgrims turn prayer wheels along the way.
Stopover in the cafeteria at 3000 meters altitude. On the terrace, monks in purple robes drink cappuccino and take photos of themselves in front of the monastery and jungle mountains. With each step, the view of the carved bay windows and golden pagoda roofs becomes more magnificent. Maybe that’s why cameras should be left at the gate: so that people can stop taking pictures and let the magnificent temples take in their effects. In one, young monks murmur mantras, and those who like bow to the golden Buddhas. If you don’t like it, look at wall paintings and altars, walk barefoot across courtyards and balconies. And slowly believes the story of the happy land of the thunder dragon.