Today, December 28th, 2025, I finally achieved a bucket list dream: visiting Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan. This monastery, perched on a mountain
at around 10,000 feet, has always captivated me. You’ve probably seen it in travel magazines or National Geographic, and it’s as breathtaking in person as it looks in photos. The journey to get there is no small feat—a round trip of about 4 miles with a steady incline going up. Just before reaching the monastery, you must navigate 350 to 400 stairs down into a valley and then climb up another 400 stairs back up the side of the peak. And that’s not counting the additional few hundred within the monastery itself. Then reverse it all to come back down.
The details:
- Total Distance: ~4 miles (6.4k) round trip
- Elevation Gain: ~1,700 feet (518 meters). My altimeter read 7,764 feet at the start of the trail.
- Highest Elevation: 10,232 feet (3119 meters)
- Duration: Our guide said 4 to 6 hours, and we did it in about 5 hours. We reached the monastery just under 3 hours later, with a longer rest stop at the tea house to marvel at the site and wait for the crowd to disperse before taking a picture. We then had a relaxing lunch on the way down.
I did not take a picture of my altimeter at the monastery’s highest level, but I did capture it just before heading back down.
The incline and stairs were what held me back from doing the trip. I’ve wanted to do this trip for over 20 years. We then tried to clot it in for the past two years, but scheduling conflicts, weather, and my fear of not being able to complete the trek had delayed us.
Since my heart attack, I’ve been working hard to lose weight. Before my heart attack, we hiked Machu Picchu a while back, and although I managed it, my pace was painfully slow.
Losing 130 pounds gave me some confidence that I could tackle Tiger’s Nest. For the past six months, I’ve been training on inclines and stairs, dedicating an hour to an hour and a half each day to cardio and incline workouts. Despite not doing as many stairs as I’d hoped due to the cold weather, I survived the trek. I did it—I can finally tick this off my list.
I owe a huge thanks to myself for persevering, and especially to my amazing wife for her willingness to join me and her constant encouragement to get in shape. My kids’ encouragement also played a big part. It might not be Mount Everest, and I was motivated by the 80 or 90-year-old woman with a water jug on her back and the young mother with a toddler on her back, climbing in block heels. No matter where the difficulty lies for you, it was a significant accomplishment. It proves that all the exercise, dieting, and weight loss have paid off.
What’s next? Maybe Kilimanjaro; it’s one of the last adventure goals I’ve had since I was young. Mongolia also calls to me—not as arduous but still appealing. Once upon a time, when I was a Marine, I toyed with running the Marine Corps Marathon.
But let’s take things one step at a time—stay healthy and live long enough to enjoy new adventures and experiences.
