Paro valley (3,120 m), Paro · 27.4917°, 89.3633°
Bhutan's defining image: white monastery wings pinned to a granite cliff 900 m above the Paro valley, built around the cave where Padmasambhava — Guru Rinpoche, who carried Buddhism across the Himalaya — meditated in the 8th century. Gutted by fire in 1998 and painstakingly rebuilt, it remains an active hermitage reached only on foot.
The Guru flew to this cliff from Tibet on the back of a tigress — his consort Yeshe Tsogyal transformed — and subdued the valley's demons from the cave in his wrathful form Dorje Drolo; hence Taktsang, the Tiger's Lair.
~2–3 hr climb from Paro valley floor; Bhutan entry via tourist visa/SDF.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Bhutanese theocracy