Paro Taktsang is a prominent Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and the temple complex is located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley in Bhutan.
A temple complex was first built in 1692, around the Taktsang Senge Samdup cave where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours in the 8th century. Padmasambhava is credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan and is the tutelary deity of the country. Today, Paro Taktsang is the best known of the thirteen taktsang or “tiger lair” caves in which he meditated.
The temple devoted to Padmasambhava is an elegant structure built around the cave in 1692 by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye; and has become the cultural icon of Bhutan. A popular festival, known as the Tsechu, held in honor of Padmasambhava, is celebrated in the Paro valley sometime during March or April.
On 15 April 2016, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton trekked for three hours to reach the monastery, while in the country on a visit. Prince Charles, William’s father, who wanted to visit this monastery could not make this trek in 1998 due to an injury he suffered in a polo match but he made a scenic painting of the monastery in watercolors from further down the path.