Wills And Kate 'Burn Off Curry' On Bhutan Trek

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have taken on one of Bhutan's toughest challenges to climb to the 1,500ft high Tiger's Nest monastery.

The trip to the top took William and Kate three hours as they walked hand-in-hand along a winding path that led through a pine forest.

The Duke admitted at one stage as he wiped the sweat from his brow that it was "quite tough on the way up" while the Duchess joked: "It's a great way to burn off the curry."

En route, the couple met three Americans who were coming back from the monastery.

Lauren McKennan, 29, Chris Steele, 27, and Alex Willmore, 28, stopped to chat with the royals.

Ms McKennan said: "They were pretty altogether. There wasn't a single trail of sweat. They stopped to talk to us for three to five minutes and were absolutely charming."

Mr Willmore 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."

The royal couple poised for pictures at the half-way point for the limited number of media permitted to accompany them on this part of the tour.

Husband and wife then headed off on the last leg of the trek with their arms around one another.

At the top, the pair stopped to admire the views from the 17th century Paro Taktsang, perched on a sheer cliff face.

On their return back down to the valley, the Prince said: "It was amazing ... beautiful scenery it was stunning to walk up there".

William also joked he would remind his father, Prince Charles, that he made it to the top.

The Prince of Wales completed half the trek on a visit in 1998 but decided against going any further because of the height.

Kate and William also admitted on Friday that they were missing their children "massively" during the trip but added they are in "good hands".

George and Charlotte have remained at home during the week-long tour of India and Bhutan.

Kate and William fly back to India on Saturday and will visit the Taj Mahal.