Tiger's Nest Monastery

Today was the highlight of our trip in Bhutan - the Tiger's Nest Monastery. 

We have learned a lot about Bhuddism this week, and the story of the Monastery is roughly this.  Guru Rinpoche, who I think brought Bhuddism to Bhutan, flew across the country on the back of a tigress and up to the home of a demon who was terrorising the local people. He subdued the demon and hundreds of years later another Guru built a Monastery in the exact same spot.

It is an unbelievably difficult place to build anything, and it was also pretty hard work to hike up there today.

The views were incredible and for most of the hike it looked impossible to get to the Monastery, as we were on the other side of the mountain. The path eventually goes steeply down, across a ravine with a large waterfall, and then up steep steps to the Monastery gates.

All along the route were stupas, brightly coloured prayer flags and finally brightly coloured prayer wheels made from recycled plastic bottles! 

As if it all wasn't beautiful enough already. 

I have also been practicing my Dzhongkha, which is the  Bhutanese language, although I am struggling because the words are very long. 'Cuzo zambu la' is hello and I said it many times today, much to the delight/surprise/bewilderment of the local people, depending on whether I got to the end without making a mistake. 

I think that I will go back to learning French as this is much too difficult.