Climbing to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
7
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
67 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
192nd/454
Top 40%
continent
Asia
country
Bhutan
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$310 ($200-$250 in 2018 prices)
Time of year visited
March
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Buddhist site Forests Hiking
All Tags
Altitude Mountains
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐
Summary

A stunning location and really is a must visit if you’re one of the few people to visit this hidden Himalayan kingdom

Top tips:

  • You’ll need 5/6 hours for the overall hike  – we started at 9am, took around 1.5 hours to the monastery, and were back down before 2pm.  It’s steep in parts, but very manageable – around 15,000 steps and 150 flights climbed according to the iphone
  • Halfway stop – there’s a nice spot to take a break and have some tea, cakes etc, plus some cracking views, around halfway up
  • Highest elevation is around 3,120m / 10,230 feet, so should be low enough to avoid any altitude sickness, but also good to help you with acclimatising for some of the other hikes across Bhutan
  • The Monastery itself is cool – clearly the surrounding views and views of the monastery are the highlight, but the monastery itself is very cool.  Loads of hidden rooms to check out and the courtyards have  super relaxed feel
  • Its probably the “busiest” place for tourists you’ll find in Bhutan
  • More detailed guide – quite a comprehensive guide on hiking to the Tiger’s Nest here from the guys from EarthTrekkers
Highlights
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#1 The view of the Tiger's Nest from the top platform and seeing how just how much it hangs off the edge

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#2 The 1.5 hour hike up to the Tiger's Nest itself. Beautiful countryside

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#3 Checking out the beautiful Buddhist sites that are dotted all along the walk up to the Monastery

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#4 Getting to explore some of the little houses and halls, in particular in the Tiger's Nest itself

Tips on Travelling in Bhutan

  • You have to go with a Bhutanese agency, with a minimum tariff of USD250 per day.  This sounds restrictive and expensive, but bear in mind that this includes all food, accommodation, transport, visas, entrance fees etc in the country and official guides, plus you don’t have to travel as part of a group and can arrange your own itinerary
  • Also bear in mind why this minimum tariff is enforced – Bhutan is focused on environmental and cultural preservation, and this extends to tourism.  Low volume, high value is their target; and it really does add to the experience being able to explore without the usual hoards of fellow tourists and the commercialised downsides we often bring
  • Bhutan focuses on Gross National Happiness, rather than an economic Gross National Product.  You’ll see this reflected in the cleanliness and quality of places you visit, and the general friendliness and pride of the local people
  • We had a 7 day / 6 night trip through Bhutan with Bhutan Swallow Tail Travels and they were awesome, would recommend.  USD1,400 per person, which, again, includes everything other than flights and discretionary spend.  For the full details on the itinerary see this travel entry for – A week in Bhutan
Experiences nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

Other Religious Trips around the World

Jerusalem for a day on the Sabbath
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Golden Temple, Amritsar – Joining the Sikh Pilgrimage
⭐⭐⭐

Three days in Rome
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Durham’s Cathedral, Castle and village
⭐⭐

The Byzantine Churches of Lake Ohrid
⭐⭐

Chengdu – pandas, hotpot and the world’s largest Buddha statue of Le Shan
⭐⭐

Getting lost in the kaleidoscope of colours in Varanasi
⭐⭐

Cycling around Kyoto and sampling whiskies in the Suntory Distillery
⭐⭐

A day trip to Abu Dhabi from Dubai
⭐⭐

Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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