Prince William and Kate's spectacular 10,000ft mountain hike to visit Bhutan monastery
THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went on a five-hour sightseeing hike to a monastery 10,000ft up a mountain in Bhutan today.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge enjoyed a hike up to the Bhutan monastery
William and Kate trekked to the spectacular Tiger's Nest monastery, which stands on a cliffside above the Paro Valley in the remote mountain Kingdom.
The second in line to the throne was sweating profusely but his wife showed no sign of even glowing when they reached the halfway point.
It prompted suspicions Kate, who looked dressed for a point-to-point in a leather waistcoat and knee high leather boots, might have stopped for a quick freshen up and make-up session shortly before a pre-arranged photocall.
Asked how they had found it so far, William said: "Easy," and laughed.
"So far so good," he said.
"This is absolutely stunning."
Before they moved on the couple, guided by the director of the national museum, Phuntsho Tashi, spun a series of prayer wheels, the equivalent of offering a prayer to absolve sin at the beauty spot.
Kensington Palace officials backed down after a row with broadcasters who complained that the couple would not let a British TV cameramen up to the monastery because they wanted to enjoy some private time.
Palace officials relented after the broadcasters began running pieces a suggesting the couple were enjoying a taxpayer-funded sightseeing trip without letting the people who paid for it see the results.
Bhutan, still a poor country, is keen to encourage more tourism but wants visitors to commit to spending $250 (dollars) per day.
William and Kate trekked to the spectacular Tiger's Nest monastery, 10,000ft up a mountain
This is absolutely stunning
The Cambridges have excluded media from several parts of their tour, prompting tension with journalists who believe the palace has an agenda to try to take control of the message and diminish the role of a media trying to hold them to account.
William and Kate enjoyed the stunning scenery of their trek to the 17th centuryParo Taktsang, nestling on the side of a cliff face.
The Cambridges began their walk by posing for photographs with the iconic monastery high above them in the background.
The Duke joked with one of the older photographers among the media saying he was glad he had not ventured to the top.
Their path up to the Tiger's Nest led through a pine forest that grew on the slopes of the hill and dotted along the route were piles of symbolic stones.
William and Kate wore sunglasses against the bright spring sunshine and when they spotted a trio of small ornate buildings housing large
Buddhist prayer wheels by a babbling brook, William pointed at them and commented to Kate.
The royal couple were holding hands and looked relaxed as they walked along the winding path through the idyllic landscape.
The couple stopped to talk to three trekkers from San Francisco who were returning down from the mountain, Lauren McKennan, 29, Chris Steele, 27, and Alex Willmore, 28.
"They were pretty altogether," said Lauren.
"There wasn't a single trail of sweat. They stopped to talk to us for three to five minutes and were absolutely charming."
The couple were holding hands as they walked along the winding path through the idyllic landscape
The second in line to the throne was sweating profusely but his wife showed no sign of even glowing
Alex added: "They asked us how long we had been here and talked about how lovely the weather was. They said how rainy it had been when they were doing the archery and how glad they were doing the trek today.
"We asked for a photograph they just laughed and wouldn't do it. But they were absolutely charming, very cool, very nice. They kept on saying how beautiful it was."