THE months of October and November are just the right time to visit Bhutan, our beautiful and pristine neighbour. With blue skies, magnificent snow views, crisp mountain air and a remarkably wellpreserved Buddhist culture, this is the place for a dream holiday. Indian nationals do not require a visa and the flight to Bhutans only airport at Paro is not only comfortably short but a most spectacular one. There is a surprisingly wide range of accommodation available; from super luxury resorts to budget hotels and both Paro and the capital Thimphu offer varied cuisine.
Having lured you to Bhutan, we now embark on an excursion to the stunning and gravity-defying Taktsang Monastery (Tigers Nest), perched high above the Paro valley. According to legend, the revered tantric master Guru Padmasambhava flew here from eastern Bhutan in the eighth century on the back of a tigress (a form that one of his consorts is believed to have taken). He meditated for three months in a cave before subjugating the evil spirits disrupting this region. While he proceeded to Tibet, one of his disciples, Langchen Pelkyi Singye, came to Taktsang in AD 853. The cave where he meditated was named Pelphug (Pelkyis Cave) and later, when he died in Nepal, his body was miraculously transported here and sealed in a chorten located in the temple complex.

Taktsang is precariously tucked into a cliff face around 3000ft above the valley floor. Although you can drive up the initial 1000ft or so, the following climb is by no means easy, especially since you are ascending to an altitude of 10200ft. The path is well laid out and almost litter-free despite numerous visitors, thanks to the impressive effort to preserve the environment there are segregated receptacles for garbage all along the route. It is a continuous and fairly steep climb up to a meadow where a tea house is located but the trail subsequently ascends very steeply till you reach a fantastic vantage point above the monastery. And, if you think thats the end, youre in for a rude shock! You now have to descend four hundred steps, cross a narrow gorge, ascend another three hundred before you reach the base of this collation of six temples clinging to a vertiginous hill face! If you have not had the time to acclimatise, you are likely to get a little breathless and will have to take the climb a little slowly.

Do not let any of this put you off visiting Taktsang indeed if there is an absolutely-must-see place in Bhutan, this is it. A good option worth considering is riding up on ponies to the vantage point and then negotiating the rest on your own steam. Remember to carry some sunscreen, water and a hat and allow three hours for the uphill journey. The first 100m or so is a deceptively easy climb as you walk through pines, catching occasional glimpses of the fascinating monastery and struggling past a collection of dedicated mani stones. However once you have passed through a pretty meadow the real climb begins. It takes around an hour if you are walking and a little less on horseback to reach a flat section with bright prayer flags flapping in the breeze. From here, a path veers off, leading to a restaurant nearby. This is where you can take a welcome break for drinks and snacks or even a buffet lunch that your guide will gladly organise for you. Across the chasmlike valley you see an imposing, glossy-brown sheer cliff with the monastery impossibly positioned at its very edge.

Beyond this point, the oak and rhododendron forest gives way to a somewhat sinister one the branches of the trees have wispy tendrils of Spanish moss trailing from them, waving delicately with even a breath of wind. As you walk along you will pass a shallow meditation cave with tsa tsa (small conical offerings) on its floor. After descending around a hundred steps there is a path leading up that climbs to the Machiphu Lhakhang. As you cross the bridge, a steep flight of stairs lead up to Singyephu, a small gompa tucked impossibly into the gorge and used as a retreat.

Before Guru Padmasambhava arrived, a deity called Singye Samdrup lived here and it is his consorts shrine that you see on the left as you enter Taktsangs courtyard. Nearby is a sacred spring that is believed to have gushed forth when Guru Padmasambhavas consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, threw her rosary against a rock.

You struggle up the final flight of stairs to the entrance of one of the most venerated temples in the entire Himalayan region. Catching your breath, you begin to absorb it all the stupendous birds-eye view, the ornate and dignified building, the evocative fragrance of burning juniper and the powerful spiritual vibrations. The sanctuary was first built by Nyingmapa lamas in the fourteenth century and was considerably expanded in 1692 by Desi Tenzing Rabgye. A mysterious devastating fire in 1998 led to the death of the caretaker monk and almost complete destruction of the complex and most of its relics. A long and extremely delicate rebuilding process was completed only in 2005. Fortuitously, a young reincarnation of Desi Tenzing Rabgye, the original builder of Taktsang, conducted the consecration ceremony and this monastic complex is rejuvenated once again.

The way down will take much less time so you should be back in your hotel for a well deserved afternoon siesta and possibly the traditional hot stone bath with a massage thrown in for good measure.