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Paro Taktsang is one of the most famous monasteries in Bhutan. It was built around the Taktsang Senge Samdup cave where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated in the 8th Century. Today it is the most well known of thirteen taktsang or "tiger lair" caves he meditated in at different places in Tibet and Bhutan.
Completed in 1692, the temple hangs on a cliff at 3,120 metres (10,200 feet), some 700 meters (2,300 feet) above the bottom of Paro valley, some 10 km from the district town of Paro.
Famous visitors include Milarepa, Machig Labdrön, Thang Tong Gyalpo, and in the 17th century Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.
The name Taktsang (stag tshang) means "Tiger's lair", the legend being that Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) flew there on the back of a tiger. The monastery includes seven temples which can all be visited. The monastery suffered several blazes and is a recent restoration. Visitors ascend the slope to the monastery on foot or on mule-back.
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