Tiger's Nest Monastery perched on a steep forested cliff in bright daylight

Paro

2,200 mWestern Bhutan

The gateway valley — home to Bhutan's only international airport, its most famous monastery, and a wealth of ancient temples.

Almost every journey to Bhutan begins with one of the world's most spectacular flight approaches, banking between ridgelines into the green Paro Valley.

The valley guards the kingdom's treasures: Tiger's Nest Monastery on its sheer cliff, the 7th-century Kyichu Lhakhang, Rinpung Dzong rising above the river, and a market town that still feels like a village.