Tiger's Nest monastery and the world's most dramatic airport approach
Paro is Bhutan's second-largest town and the site of the country's only international airport — famous for one of the most terrifying landings in aviation, where pilots must thread between mountain peaks, bank sharply, and land uphill on a short runway in a narrow valley. The town is the spiritual and cultural heart of Bhutan: Paro Rinpung Dzong (fortress-monastery) looms over the valley from a hilltop, the National Museum occupies a medieval watchtower above it, and a 40-minute hike up a forested cliff above the valley leads to Taktsang Palphug Monastery (Tiger's Nest) — the most sacred site…
Paro has been central to Bhutan's history since the country's unification in the 17th century under Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who built the chain of dzongs (fortress-monasteries) that still define Bhutanese identity. Paro Dzong was built in 1646 and has never been conquered. The Tiger's Nest monastery (Taktsang) was built in 1692 around the cave where Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours in the 8th century, arriving on the back of a tigress — making it one of the most sacred sites in Vajrayana Buddhism.