Perched 10,240 feet up in the air on a cliff in the Himilayas is Tiger’s Nest monastery. It is one of the most sacred sites in Buddhism, as it is believed that this is where Guru Padmasambhava, or the Second Buddha, first landed in Bhutan, and introduced Buddhism. It is said to take 2 hours to hike to the monastery from the base…. it took me 4 hours. This is a story of how altitude sickness almost killed me in the Himilayas. LOL. No… seriously. At least, that’s how it felt.

We started our tour early in the morning. When we got to the base to start our hike, the clouds were still covering the actual monastery, and the top of the mountains. All I knew, was that I was about to take a nice hike through the Himilayas. This Miami girl (this is important because I’ve lived at Sea Level my entire life, and had never been at an altitude this high) had no idea what she had signed up for. The day before our hike to Tiger’s Nest, we went to the National Zoo to see some of the national animals that only live above a certain altitude. At that point, I had started to feel dizzy, had a throbbing headache, and was having trouble breathing, but I didn’t realize that I was, in fact, experiencing altitude sickness.

The beginning of the hike seems quite simple. Nothing very steep, and you’re surrounded by beautiful landscapes, of course. I didn’t feel horrible yet, but I was definitely having a hard time breathing. By the end of the first hour of the hike, I was last in the group (we had some people over 60 years of age busting my ass on this hike hahaha), and I had a full fledged headache. The hike itself isn’t very difficult. There’s no climbing involved. It’s a pretty steady uphill walk. I wore regular Nike sneakers, which was probably not the best idea, but some people manage to do the hike in sandals, so it really isn’t a very treacherous path.  A special shoutout to this lovely man who was the only reason I survived.

I’ll spare you all the gory details, but what I will tell you is that altitude sickness is no joke. At about the halfway point of the hike, there is a rest area where you can purchase some trinkets, drinks, take bathroom break, and rest your feet for a minute. It’s also a great spot to grab some nice photos of the valley surrounding, and the monastery in the distance. At this point, the guides that were with our group were concerned about me, and advised me not to continue, as altitude sickness can be dangerous…. but my momma didn’t raise no little cupcake, so I chose to continue. Little did I know it was about to get worse.

The second half of the hike is a bit steeper. It’s also open faced, so you’ve definitely got to be careful and watch your step, or things can get a bit dangerous (I mean I was sure a couple of times I would take a tumble off the side of a cliff).  My breaths were shallow. My head was throbbing. I felt nauseous. I was weak. My vision was blurred. Still, I was determined to get through this. The surrounding landscape was so beautiful, and the air was crisp. A couple of times I was able to get myself together long enough to appreciate where I was, and what I was doing.

Once we got out to the main lookout point, which is also the highest altitude of the hike, I was ready to tap out. The remainder of the hike was 500 steps down, and then 500 steps up, and voila! I didn’t think I could make it, so I was ready to start the hike back to the bottom when a stranger came up to me, and said, “Honey, you have a grandma who passed some years ago?” I told her I did, and she continued, “She wants me to let you know that she is with you, and she is very proud of you, and you can do this.” I immediately began to cry. Now there was no way I could stop. So on I went.

500 uneven, unsteady stairs down, followed by 500 uneven, unsteady stairs up.  Once up at the monastery, you will have to leave most of your belongings outside. There is a labyrinth of temples inside, and you could probably spend quite a while exploring them.  I listened while the tour guides spoke to us about the most important ones, and I took a bit of time to find a couple on my own, and just sit in silence and meditate.  It truly is a special experience, and if I could get through it, I’m willing to bet anyone can.  So put on your hiking boots (I can tell you from experience that Nike running shoes aren’t a good option for this hike), and go!  Just remember, what goes up must come down…. and the only way down, is the same way you went up!

#LauraTheeExplora over and out!