Scholar John Ardussi introduces Bhutan’s most recognizable monument, the spectacular
cliffside shrine known as the “The Tiger’s Lair.” Legends say that the legendary Indian Buddhist
master Padmasambhava flew here on a tiger’s back to subdue local demons. Monks from Tibet
began to meditate here in the sixteenth century, and the temple was built from 1692 to 1694 by
the nephew of Bhutan’s national founder. The murals inside were damaged in a 1998 fire, and
today scholars use old photographs to study them.