Yesterday we drove from Punakha to Paro for the last part of our Bhutan pre-trip. (Tomorrow we head to our next destination.) The two highlights of our time in Paro were a wonderful folk dance performance and a hike to Tiger’s Nest, which I didn’t get all the way to.
I keep saying that I’m going to be brief and then I keep writing a lot. This time I will really be brief, because internet is very slow at our hotel here in Paro, and because we have an early departure for our flight to wherever it is we’re going next.
Dress Up
After we arrived in Paro we got to play dress-up. We tried on ghos (for the men) and kiras (for the women).
Folk Dance
While wearing our outfits, we got to enjoy a performance by Yangchen Lugar, a music and dance troupe based in Paro. I took video of all of them. At some point I will upload them to YouTube, but because of the slow Wifi, I’ve created a special folder with all the dances. Give yourself a treat and click that link and watch the videos.
Oh, and by the way, Bhutanese people are so attractive, aren’t they?
OK, I got the Welcome Dance uploaded to YouTube, so you can watch it here:
Tiger’s Nest
There are some legends about the origin of this sacred Buddhist site. They all involve Padmasambhava, better known as Guru Rinpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th or 9th century. And they have something to do with him riding to this location on the back of a tigress, spending time in a cave, and having eight incarnations or manifestations.
The temple, officially called Paro Taktsan but better known as the Tiger’s Nest, was built in 1692 and is dedicated to Padmasambhava. Its location is the site of the cave where he went, at the edge of a cliff, at an altitude of 3,120 meters (10,240 feet).
It’s about a 6‑hour round trip hike to the Tiger’s Nest, with an elevation gain of 518 meters (1,700 feet) and a total distance of 6.4 km (4 miles).
At about the halfway point is a cafeteria. That’s as far as I got. I spent three hours there with Michelle, one of the other members of our group. One person didn’t come with us. The other six went all the way.
A Jewish atheist, a Christian, and an agnostic walk into a cafeteria…
I won’t go into detail, but among the many things Michelle and I talked about was religion. And another woman sitting nearby heard our discussion and chimed in. It was interesting.
Photos
I think my Bhutan photo album is now complete, with the entire six days of pictures and videos. The view we got of the Tiger’s Nest from the cafeteria is up top. And here’s the view the ones who completed the hike got.
That’s all for Bhutan. On to what’s next!
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