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Graceful Gangtok: Places to See

The town of Gangtok in the State of Sikkim is the largest town in the state. Situated at an altitude of 1,437 m atop Shivalik Hills in the Eastern Himalayan Range, Gangtok is a major draw among the tourists visiting Sikkim. With the entrance of Buddhism, Gangtok began turning as a popular Buddhist pilgrimage centre as well. Gangtok includes various places of interest and importance of which some are the Enchey Monastery, the Nathula Pass, Do Drul Chorten, The Ridge, Himalayan Zoo Park and many more. One well be left dazed by the beauty of all these places. Here are a few places where one can go sightseeing when they go to Gangtok.

How to Reach

How to Reach

The nearest airport to Gangtok is the Bagdogra airport. On reaching there, one can hire a taxi and reach Gangtok by road. The New Jalpaiguri in Siliguri is the nearest railway station to Gangtok. This station has direct connections to major cities like Kolkata and New Delhi. While many private as well as state government buses ply to Gangtok from the Siliguri bus stand, one can prefer hiring a taxi or jeeps too. There are various jeeps ply to Gangtok from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Siliguri and other places as well.

Photo Courtesy: Abhishek Kumar

Baba Harbhajan Singh Memorial

Baba Harbhajan Singh Memorial

Baba Harbhajan Singh Memorial Temple is located in between the Jelepla Pass and Nathu La Pass and is a popular pilgrim centre and is visited by hundreds of devotees each day. It is believed that the temple has the power to fulfill wishes and devotees visiting the temple leave a bottle of water at the temple and pick it up during their return journey.

Tsongmo Lake

Tsongmo Lake

Tsongmo Lake or as it is commonly referred to as Changu Lake is located in East Sikkim and is a beautiful glacial water body. Many a tourists come here to just capture this awe inspiring view. One will come across this lake on the way to Nathu la Pass. Special mention should be done about the stamp released in dedication to this lake by the Indian Postal Service in the year 2006.

Photo Courtesy: Ravinder Singh Gill

Do Drul Chorten

Do Drul Chorten

The Do Drul Chorten in Gangtok is a stupa built by Trulshik Rinpoche - the head of Nyingma order of Tibetan Buddism. One can see the various religious objects, an entire set of Dorjee Phurba and Kangyur relics in here. Also, present around the stupa are Chorten Lakahang and Guru Lakhang where two of Guru Rinpoche's statues are present. The Stupa has 108 prayer wheels around it.

Photo Courtesy: Zeimusu

Enchey Monastery

Enchey Monastery

Enchey Monastery in Gangtok is a very sacred place of worship in Gangtok. The name 'Enchey Monastery' means solitary monastery and is sacred because of the presence of the protecting deities - Khangchendzonga and Yabdean within the place.

Photo Courtesy: Thuresson

Gurudongmar Lake

Gurudongmar Lake

Gurudongmar Lake is a fresh water lake and is one of the highest water body here. The lake is situated towards the North East of Kunchenjunga range. One can trek from Gurudongmar Lake to Tso Lhsmo Lake after receiving permission from the army here.

Photo Courtesy: Sivakumar

Himalayan Zoological Park

Himalayan Zoological Park

The Himalayan Zoological Park is situated 8 km ahead of Gangtok. The park is also known as Bulbulay and includes a wide range of interesting wild animals living in open enclosures. Some of the wild animals that one might get to see here includes the barking deer, pandas, panthers, Tibetan wolves, civet cats, the Himalayan black bear and more.

Photo Courtesy: Carsten.nebel

Jawaharlal Nehru Botanical Gardens

Jawaharlal Nehru Botanical Gardens

Nehru Botanical Garden is a tourist attraction that lies a little ahead of the Rumtek Monastery. An attractive garden housing a huge collection of exotic orchids, it also includes a variety of tropical and temperate trees and plants.

Photo Courtesy: Nichalp

Nathu la Pass

Nathu la Pass

Nathu La is a mountain pass which connects Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Indians are only allowed to visit the pass and that too on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays with a prior permit at Gangtok. There is also an Indian war memorial present here.

Photo Courtesy: $udeep Bajpai

Rumtek Monastery

Rumtek Monastery

The Rumtek Monastery is about 24km from Gangtok and is one of the religious centres of the Tibetan Buddhists. It is the biggest monastery in the whole of Sikkim. Behind the main structure of the monastery, there is a heavily decorated and beautiful Karma Nalanda Institute of Buddhist Studies where they have students from around the world. There is also a little hall which has the Golden Stupa, a chorten which is jewel-studded.

Seven Sisters Waterfall

Seven Sisters Waterfall

The Seven Sisters Waterfall is a major tourist attraction at Dzongu. The Sikkim Tourism and Civil Aviation Department has built a cafeteria and a sheltered place to rest here. Visitors can take pictures of the enchanting waterfalls from here and enjoy the scenic beauty.

Photo Courtesy: Snthakur

Teesta River

Teesta River

Teesta River, the longest river of Sikkim flows across the state and is an ideal site for white water rafting. The strong currents of the river makes it an ideal spot for river rafting. Group rafting facilities are available in the towns of Melli and Teesta bazaar. A trip on the raft in the gushing and icy waters of Teesta is a great experience for both nature and adventure enthusiasts.

The Ridge

The Ridge

The Ridge is a small stretch of beautiful flat land. It has a small attractive park present inside which is called the Hava Ghar and is a serene place to rest at with benches within. Also one will find many photographers roaming around the park from whom the tourists can get their instant pictures clicked.

Photo Courtesy: Nichalp

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