The beautiful and
glorious landscape is not the only thing that's happening in Sikkim.
The people are warm and welcoming and their culture, mighty rich.
Gangtok offers its visitors a sea of experiences from the mind
boggling view of the whole area from certain points of the town to
the introduction of its rich culture in the monasteries and
festivals. This articles tells you of the places you should visit on
your stay there.
Located in the
Eastern Himalayan range at an elevation of 1,650 metres is the
capital and the largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim - Gangtok.
Gangtok is a municipality which rose to prominence as a popular
Buddhist pilgrimage site after the construction of Enchey Monastery
in 1840. The town’s current population of over 100,000 belongs to
different ethnicities such as Nepalis, Lepchas and Bhutia.
Gangtok, no doubt,
is the centre of Sikkim’s tourism industry. It contributes highly
to the economy of Sikkim through its tourism and is one of the
forerunners of the tourism destinations in the whole north eastern
region of India. After India won its independence from Britain in
1947, Sikkim chose to remain an independent monarchy, with Gangtok as
its capital. In 1975, after the integration with the union of India,
Gangtok was made India's 22nd state capital. The scenic beauty of the
place and the temperate climate is blends beautiful to make it a
perfect tourist destination. Sikkim is one of the cleanest state in
India. Highly well organised and well maintained with proper
discipline. It is also the only smoke free state in the whole
country. It is illegal to smoke or sell cigarettes anywhere in within
the boundaries of the state. If found you may have to pay a fine on
your first offence. Littering and spitting public area is also
prohibited and liable to fine of INR200. The lights are normally out
by 9 pm in this part of India although the pubs are normally open
till 11pm. The pubs normally play the type of music the native people
listen to, which is normally a mixture of western music with some
hindi pop tunes in between. Sports and music are well received here
with football, cricket and archery being the most popular sports
played in this region. There are regular football matches and
tournaments organised and it is often responded with a massive crowd
turnout. There are many places
to visit in Gangtok to have a good time. Here are some of them.
Enchey Monastery
- A rich and historic monastery, busy and running where you can see
monks living their normal regular life. A long walk up to the top but
still worth the effort this place requires no entry fee but you could
always leave a donation.
Hanuman Tok -
A temple to Hanuman maintained by the Army. Very well maintained with
excellent gardens around. Nice view of the Himalayas with
Kanchanjunga visible in the distance amongst the clouds. Get there
before by afternoon and watch the sun set in the best view.
Tsomgo Lake -
A must visit! The snow clad terrain with mountain peaks wearing snow
caps makes a glorious view that leaves you speechless. The yak ride
by the side of the lake is the cherry on the cake.
Tashi View Point
- The best view of the whole landscape set at an altitude of 6000
feet, the Tashi view point is a clean and a beautifully well
maintained spot perfect to capture the majestic view with you camera.
Banjhakri Falls
and Seven sisters waterfall - These are the two places you need
to visit if you want to see a real natural waterfall. It does not get
better than this. The cool fresh water and the continuous sound of
flowing water is refreshing and take you to another space and time
Palzor Stadium
- If you are a fan of football, whether you love playing or watching
it, this stadium will give you the thrills. The main centre of all
the biggest football matches in Sikkim, this is definitely worth a
visit.
Pub 25 - An
upscale pub right in the heart of MG Road, this place has an amazing
ambience with great drinks and tasty food. This is one place that you
can go and loosen up after a long and tiring day.
Gangtok is a
beautiful location for a holiday destination. With more and more
people travelling to this part of India, Gangtok began to grew as the
talk of the region. Tourism is flourishing and Sikkim is trying its
best to give the visitors the best it has to offer. This is one place
you do not want to miss to add to your bucket list!
Author
Bio: Sandeep
is an experienced travel writer and enthusiast blogger. He has
explored many known and less-known tourist places in India in the
last 10 years. He
also writes about travel tips and guides tourists on modes of travel,
such as train schedule for pune
to jaipur train, pune
to wardha train
etc.
Comments