Ultimate challenge.....climbing to the Tigers Nest, Bhutan

Just about every travel guide book to Bhutan has the iconic Tiger's Nest on its cover!

How could we resist!

We knew it would be a challenge going from the Paro Valley up to the monastery at 10,200 ft.
Looking up from our approach from the valley it did look daunting......

Its the small white square on the cliff face....definitely more than a little daunting!

One has the option of taking a mule half way up.... but no further! and one needs to walk down.

We opted to definitely hike up!
One needed to stop every now and again to adjust to the altitude......
The path initially was relatively easy......

However it changed fairly rapidly and indeed the path became a little treacherous in parts.....

and one was sharing at times with the mules!

We were told to stay put on the hill side to allow them to pass.......
was the alternative  that one might fall/be pushed down on the valley side  by a startled mule??!

The half way marker was a welcome sight..the drop off area for the mules..

followed but the prayer wheels.......

and then followed by a welcome stop at a tea room......

The view of the monastery was a little closer....but still a little way off!

....at this point we were definitely getting closer.......

and were able to get a great view of the valley below........

BUT......we still had to go down.......

cross a bridge over a waterfall.......

...and then up again on the other side to reach the monastery......

Entrance to the temples of the monastery is restricted and all belongings needed to be checked before going past guard..........so No Photos!

We were very happy to stop once again on the way down at the tea house and noticed that the rose had bloomed while we climbed!

We were very happy to get back to our beautiful hotel, the Zhiwa Ling........
to a welcome massage and a hot stone bath!

Punakha, Bhutan

To get to Punakha one goes over a 10,000+ft pass but in Punakha one is at a more comfortable  altitude of 4000ft.

Our hotel was relatively new.... the Khuru Resort  hotel...

This has a great position, has very nice rooms, could be a 4 star.... but still needs a little help...
Would I stay there again...definitely!
Our time in Punakha was busy! We had a rafting trip arranged to go down the Mo Chu river which did have some rapids!

......a riverbank picnic lunch was organised....

where we got to see others passing by in their boats......

 and then on to visit  the beautiful Punakha Dzong........

...entered over an old wooden bridge.....

Totally amazing!
This is where the present king had his coronation in 2008 and also his wedding in 2011.

And finally on to Bhutan......

Our flight was an early morning one and so we had to leave our Himalayan hotel at the crack of dawn!

It is only possible to fly into Bhutan on planes with experienced Bhutanese pilots......
it is considered a dangerous landing with only visual ....no radar help!

 Flying in can be somewhat dramatic!

.....the country is 79% mountainous. We now know how close they seemed to be!

On arrival at Palo airport we were immediately  struck by its contrast to Kathmandu.
The luggage carrousel has to be seen to be believed ......

We had been warned that roads in Bhutan were not great.......however after Nepal they were amazingly good!
Our first few nights were to be in the capital Thimphu.....we stayed at the Druk hotel in the center of town....
We  checked out the National Library the first day

and then visited the National Textile museum  and academy

where we were able to view masks being made.....

....a few masks being demonstrated by our guide, Sangay.......

We were lucky as we were in Thimphu for their  annual Tshechu.......

Unfortunately it was a day of rain but that did not deter us from attending the outdoor event in front of the Thimphu Dzong.....

...there were very colourful attendants to the Tshechu....

That night we were entertained by a local family.....which meant a winding drive up a mountain!

...but which gave us a fantastic view of the Dzong lit up at night......