The Tak­t­sang Pal­phug Monastery, also known as Paro Tak­t­sang and the Tiger’s Nest, is pre­cip­i­tous­ly tucked away in the moun­tains. It is perched on a cliff at an ele­va­tion of over 10,000 feet, over­look­ing the Paro val­ley in Bhutan, the small Himalayan coun­try nes­tled between India and Chi­na. With white build­ings and red and gold roofs, the monastery is an exquis­ite jew­el hid­den among the rugged beau­ty of its sur­round­ings. The indi­vid­ual build­ings that com­prise it are con­nect­ed by stair­ways carved into the rock, and numer­ous bal­conies pro­vide a breath­tak­ing view of the val­ley below. The monastery was built in 1694 at the cave where, accord­ing to leg­end, Bud­dhist guru Pad­masamb­ha­va med­i­tat­ed for three years, three months, three weeks, and three hours back in the eighth cen­tu­ry. The name “Tiger’s Nest” comes from the sto­ry that Pad­masamb­ha­va flew to the cave on the back of a tiger.