Gangtok is located at East district of Sikkim at an
altitude of 1,870m. The best time to visit Sikkim is between February to
May and mid September to December. Due to its varied natural topography
it is called the fairyland capital of Sikkim. Turbulent rivers, snow
capped glistening mountain peaks and lush rice terraces have become the
identity of Gangtok. Being the capital Gangtok is the political and
economical hub of Sikkim.
Some of the places of attractions of Gangtok are:
Institute of Tibetology:
The Institute of Tibetology, is about a mile away from downtown
Gangtok. This center is mainly dedicated to further Buddhist philosophy,
Tibetan studies, and religion. It attracts scholars from all over the
world. It has some rare collection of books, tantric documents, and rare
manuscripts.
Tsuk-La-Khang Monastery:
This is a very famous monastery, which is located in the palace
premises near the ridge in Gangtok.
Dul-Dul Chorten and Jhang Club Chortan:
In the Deorali bazaar, there are two beautiful stupas, the "Dul-dul-Chorten",
which was built to memorialize the victory of good over evil; and the "Jhang
Club Chorten" was built to perpetuate the memory of a great
spiritualist Thrul-Shik Rinpoche, who was a passionate devotee of Buddha
and one of his best interpreters died in 1962, the stupa has been built
to immortalize the great spiritualist in his birth land.
Lal Bazaar:
Lal Bazaar portrays the true vibrant color of Sikkim. It is the meeting
ground of people from different ethnic groups.
Rumtek Monastery:
It is located at a place, which is 24 km from Gangtok. Rumtek monastery
is the main monastery of Kagyud or 'Black Hat' sect of Tibetan Buddhism.
Among other monasteries there are
Pemayangtse Monastery:
It is Sikkim's second most important and second oldest monastery, which
lies west of Gangtok. It is built in the year 1705. This ancient
monastery is the headquarters of the Nyingmapa Buddhist sect of Sikkim.
And there is also Tashiding monastery.
How to Reach
If you want to travel by air than Bagdogra is the closest airport,
which is about 124 km from Gangtok. Bagdogra is connected by air with
all-important Indian Metros.
If you want to avail rail facility than the nearest railhead is at New
Jalpaiguri, it is 125 km from Gangtok. To reach NJP is not a problem
because it is well connected with all the major cities of India.
Traveling by road is also available as you can reach Gangtok from
Darjeeling, Siliguri and Kalimpong by the national highway 31 A. Regular
buses services are available between Gangtok and Siliguri and within
Sikkim. If you want you can avail private buses, jeeps and cabs, which
are available from Siliguri and Bagdogra.
