beauty of sikkim

ENCHANTING BEAUTY

Sikkim is one of the best natural beauty of himalayas.Their are best tourist guides who explores the beauty of himalaya hills of sikkim.Sikkim is the small state but its beauty and attractive himalayas explain this state in a bigger way. It is located in the north eastern part of india,this state is famous for virgin forest, awesome waterfalls, Tibetan

WALK TOWARDS THE CLOUd style Buddhist Gompas, nathu la border and more.kanchenjunga , is the third highest mountain in the world, and also lies in sikkim. The Sikkimese call their land ‘Ney Mayal Lyang’ that translates to ‘heaven.’

Sikkim is the kingdom of himalayas in which there are numbers of peaks is 6000m and more in eastern  border.There is cold weather in sikkim maximum times , and its beauty of weather attract the tourist more in summer months.

Gangtok market

This is the main market in gangtok in which road is lined with all types of shops on both sides. A part of the shopping area here is known as New Market.You will get nice collection of books here including ones on Sikkim tourism, culture etc. If you are looking for jewelry items, you can buy it here with pocket friendly price. They are excellent in designs like dragons on gold pendants, ear rings, finger rings and even in metal craft.

  

Traditional Dress Sikkim

Rumtek Monastery

Rumtek monastery is one of the largest Monastery in Sikkim and belongs to the

kargyu sect of Buddhists which originated in the 12th century in Tibet. The architecture of the monastery is one of the finest in the world and resembles the original one in Tsurphu, Tibet.The main building of the Rumtek monastery is three storeyed.It is also a world renowned center for Kargyu teachings which was the old one techniques. The legend says that after the first Karmapa ended his long years of meditation in a cave, he was greeted by 1000 fairies each one of who gave him a strand of hair. All those hairs were woven into a hat. It is said that the same hat is now in custody of Rumtek Monastery.this is  the story behind this monastery .Just opposite to the Nalanda Institute is a building where you will find the Golden Stupa of 16th Karmapa which is made of pure gold.The another monastery is Enchey that was also amazing with their structure and Dro-dul chorten.

             

Enchey monastery

This is Situated on a beautiful hilltop near Gangtok TV Tower is the magnificent Nyingmapa Monastery of Enchey Sangag Rabtenling.The monastery is perched on the upper slope of the town and is encircled by gigantic mountains.There are 100 prayer wheels that con complete in one round of the dro-dul chorten.Dro-dul chorten is basically a stupa in gangtok.

         

                  Kanchenjunga mountain view

Hanuman tok

Here Tok means a temple, so it's a temple of Lord Hanuman. But it's actually far more than that and known for its wonderful scenery ambience and a viewing area that offers spectacular view of Kanchenjunga range.Actually point is that the whole gangtok area offers the view of kanchenjunga.

It's located at an altitude of 7,200 ft and on a road that branches off from the Gangtok-Nathula Highway. It's located at a distance of 11kms from Gangtok town.The believed of locals that when the Lord Hanuman carrying the sanjeevni herbs to Lakshman they take rest in that place for sometime.That's why this temple is popularly known as wish fulfilling temple.

 

       Ganesh tok

Ganesh tok is close to the Tashi view point,its a temple of lord Ganesha. It's located at an altitude of 6,500 ft and at a hill adjacent. Like Hanuman Tok, tourists come here not only to offer prayers to Ganesh, but also to saw the views from the viewing lounge and the circular balcony around it.

The temple itself is quite small.The balcony around is even better for the views. You can see the Gangtok town, rolling hill and the snow capped mountains including Kanchenjunga. If you also want to see these kind of views you should visit their.

TREK TOWARDS NATHU LA BORDER

Tsomgo or changu lake

 Tsomgo Lake, also known as Changu Lake is a glacial lake in Sikkim and located at an altitude of 12,310 feet. The name Tsomgo means 'Source of water'. It's located 35kms from Gangtok town and on the steep route known as Jawaharlal Nehru Road which leads all the way to Nathula Pass.  

This is also one of the few and awesome high altitude lakes in India. The lake becomes doubly attractive with the reflections of the surrounding hills on the water. From Gangtok which is at 5410 ft, the altitude rises to about 10,000 ft in just 15kms. You can imagine how steep the gradient would be on this stretch of the road.  

Baba mandir

Its located between Nathula and Jelepla pass at an altitude of 13,123 ft and about 52kms from Gangtok, Baba Harbhajan Singh Temple is popularly known as Baba Mandir. One usually covers this temple along with a visit to Tsomgo lake or Nathula Pass.

There is a touching story associated with this temple. Harbhajan Singh was a Sentry of Punjab Regiment and was posted here as part of border patrol force. The border with China is nearby. In October 1968 he disappeared. It is said that while escorting mules carrying provisions, he fell into a stream and drowned. After a few days he reappeared in the dreams of one of his sentry colleagues and asked him to make a memorial here on his name. The sentries then made a samadhi and later this temple was built.Although Harbhajan Singh is no more, the sentries and guards here believe that his spirit is still alive and he is therefore treated as a living being. They all believe that Harbhajan will guard and protect them in this very difficult terrain.

In fact there has been reports that Chinese soldiers across the border having seen a turbaned sentry doing his rounds at night. Many sentries here believe that Harbhajan comes here every night as his camp bed sheet gets crumpled every morning and his polished shoes turn muddy by the evening. Every year during his annual leave, Harbhajan is known to visit his hometown in Punjab even today although he is well past his retirement age. Two soldiers actually accompany his uniform in a jeep up to Siliguri then in a train to his hometown. In fact his salary is still sent to his home.If you don't have much time to visit Baba mandir then their is one more mandir formed for the Harbhajan singh which is near to the Nathu La pass.You should be visit that place atleast once.

Towards the nathu la

NATHU LA BORDER

That was the Indo- China border which is located at an altitude of 14,140 feet and 52kms from Gangtok, Nathula Pass was the place through which the famous Silk Route used to operate until 1962. This used to be a trade route between India and Tibet. Lines of mules used to carry silk, gold and many other items from Tibet to India and take daily essentials back to Tibet.The fenced Indo-China border is also few meters away and you can see both Indian and Chinese soldiers guarding the border.We go inside and saw the army security of Indo-China border,but all public cannot allow to go in this due to the security reasons.The guards are friendly. A stairway leads to the border. There is no 'no mans land' here. Even today, mails are delivered across the border on certain days of the week.
Also note that Nathu La is protected area.That's why Foreign tourists are not allowed here. Indians require a valid Protected Area Permit to visit Nathula. Permit is issued by the Sikkim Tourism Department in Gangtok. You can get it through a registered tour agency or ask your hotel to get it. You will need photo ID proof (PAN card not accepted) and two passport size photos each. You should apply for the permit at least one day before your planned visit.

This sikkim tour was awesome and i suggested that if you are planning for summer vacation you must visit their