Paro Bhutan Tourists Place – Tiger’s Nest Visit – Bhutan Travel Guide
Paro Bhutan Tourist Place: Paro is home to Bhutan’s most famous Temple-Monastery Paro Taksang, also known as Tiger’s Nest. Today we’ll explore Tiger’s Nest And find the answer to Why Bhutan is such a happy country? Let’s start with a story. A story that kids in Bhutan hear from their grandparents.
History of Paro
This story doesn’t begin in Paro but in the Eastern District of Pemagatshel. This story is hundreds of years old there was an ancient temple and right outside the temple, there was a bowl of magical rice crusher. The crusher doubled the rice after putting it in for crushing. Villagers were very happy but also curious about the mystery, One day they pulled out the crusher from the ground. A pair of birds emerged from the ground, Both the birds flew as soon as they came out but one of the villagers got hold of one male bird. The male bird immediately turned into stone and it’s believed that the stone bird is still there.
The female bird flew and made a new home far away. In Bhutanese, a bird is referred to as Paro so her new home also got its name Paro, And since then rice has been plentiful in Paro. What happened to Pemagatshel? Unfortunately, there’s no rice there anymore. In Paro, your journey will most likely start from Paro Airport. Bhutan’s only international airport is Paro. In fact, Paro Airport is often known as the most dangerous commercial airport in the world. Only eight pilots can land here.
Paro Town
Thimphu is a big and crowded capital city with modern architecture But Paro Bhutan on the other hand is like from the past. I recommend that if you want to split time between Thimphu and Paro, spend more time in Paro Bhutan. You’ll like this more – there are many cafes here as well. Paro is beautiful. It’s very antique. It’s fantastic!
Bhutan National Museum (Ta-dzong)
The National Museum of Bhutan has a fantastic location with great views. There is a watch tower which is now restored Most traditional buildings are square or rectangular in plan, but the watch tower is circular in shape which is nice. Paro Fort in Paro City is one of Bhutan’s most important forts. The fort was built in the 17th century during the reunification of Bhutan. This was one of the early forts and even today it’s well preserved and functional Of course it’s not functional as a fort but used for administrative work. There are temples where you can also pray, And it’s also a great place to learn about the history of Bhutan.
Let me take this opportunity and tell you a little about the history of Bhutan. So you’ll understand the history and our journey ahead will also get easier. In the 17th century, Bhutan had one enemy – Tibet which was always attacking the country. They wanted to take back a Buddha relic which originally came from Tibet itself. So Tibet was always attacking and Bhutan defended itself. The relic is still in Bhutan and an important part of its heritage.
Tiger’s Nest
Tiger’s Nest is quite an iconic place. The important thing to know now is that it’s a medium to difficult trek. It takes about three hours one way. A quick recommendation if you are coming on the hike, It’s good to start early – fewer people and good weather.
One more interesting thing is that there are many other temples around Tiger’s Nest. These temples were built by different gurus who came afterward. So you’ll see many other structures some at a higher level and others at the lower level. There are steep steps that go down towards a waterfall then you climb up again.
Google Map: Tiger’s Nest
History Of Tiger’s Nest
An interesting question is why is it called Tiger’s Nest and not Tiger’s Den or Tiger’s Cave? Because generally, these are the terms used when talking about tigers. This is a very interesting story, It’s believed that in the 8th Century master who meditated here came flying on a tiger Since it was a tigress, a Tiger, and because he flew like a bird, it’s called a Nest and not a cave or den. That is very interesting! But who was the 8th Century Master? His name is Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava. It’s believed that he was born in the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan. He popularised Tantra Buddhism in Tibet and Bhutan.
In the 8th century, he meditated at Paro Bhutan Taksang, And after that Buddhism became the dominant religion of Bhutan. A magnificent temple was then built here in the 17th century before which there were only huts The massive fire of 1998 destroyed much of the temple And it was then rebuilt Fortunately all the relics remained safe in the fire like all the other temples of Bhutan. Here photography is prohibited.
Kyichu Temple Oldest Buddhist Temple
Kyichu Temple is closely linked with the history of Bhutan. This is Bhutan’s oldest temple which makes it the oldest structure in the country. It has an interesting story that starts in the 7th century. The first Tibetan Buddhist king commissioned the temple, Why was it made? In the Himalayan region, there was a female demon that was rather huge in size. To control the demon the king built 108 temples (each at a different point of her body) to control her. Two of those temples, on knee and toe, are located in Bhutan.
The name of the temple literally translates into ‘Peaceful Temple’And when you come here, you feel peace too. Unfortunately, photography isn’t allowed inside the temple. Many consider Bhutan to be one of the World’s happiest countries, the reason for happiness is the Path shown by Gautam Buddha.
Travel Tips For Bhutan From India
If you are planning, here are some useful tips India and Bhutan have had a close relationship for a long so it’s very easy to go there. We do not need a visa to go there. We need an e-permit which can be applied online. You can take a print with you and that will be good. Typically Bhutanese government charges a daily fee (STF) which is over and above every other expense.
Earlier Indians didn’t have to pay the fee, but since 2022 we also have to give the fee. Our fee is Rs 1200/ day as against others who pay $ 200 per day. Our fee is quite low but there is a fee component involved. If you want to explore Bhutan, it’s necessary to have a tour guide with you. Don’t think of it like North Korea or other countries where the guide is there to stop you from doing things. Here the tour guide is there to help support.
It’s not as easy as taking a bag and passport and coming here. You’ll have to plan in advance- how many days, which tour agency, and guide. Once you are in Bhutan, your plan can be completely flexible. There is a lot of temperature variation in Bhutan. In winter it’s very cold so you’ll have to get good winter clothing but in summer, you can spend most of your days in just a T-shirt.
Just get a jacket along though if it gets cold, or you go up the mountain. So that is good as far as food is concerned, people have a variety of opinions, not everyone likes the local food so much because the taste palate is very different here and the main spice is green chilly. There’s lots of cheese, There’s lots of beef and pork, but chicken isn’t very common. You can find fish too, And seasonal vegetables which are locally grown here and not imported you can easily find Indian food in many cafes.
You can also get Western food like burgers, pizzas, and that kind of thing. And finally, if you are coming to Bhutan, come with an open mind and I’m sure you’ll learn a lot here. Many basic concepts like marriage and religion are very different from India So listen to it all with an open mind and learn, and it’ll be just amazing If you have more questions, let me know in the comments and I’ll help you out with those. I’ll share all the relevant tips in this article and you can use those to plan your trip.
I hope you enjoyed today’s Paro Bhutan Story. If you liked the article, do share it with your friends and family. Also, share with those planning a trip there and if you want to watch more such videos, do subscribe to our YouTube Channel as well. See you soon in the next article. Goodbye for now!
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