Bhutanese tradition holds that in the 8th century Guru Rinpoche, also called Padmasambhava, flew to the cliff above the Paro valley on the back of a tigress. The tigress is usually said to be a form of Yeshe Tsogyal, his consort and disciple. That is how the place got its name: Taktsang means the tiger's lair.
He is said to have meditated in a cave in the cliff for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours, subduing a local demon and bringing Buddhism to the valley. The cave became one of the most sacred sites in the Himalaya.
The temple complex around the cave was built in 1692 by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye, a ruler of Bhutan of that era. In April 1998 a fire destroyed the main structure and many of its contents. It was rebuilt with traditional materials and methods, and reconsecrated in 2005.
Sources
Legends are retold differently from village to village. Where a story is told locally rather than written down, we say so.
