Sikkim – The Shangri-la of India
One
of the holiday destinations, I had been long contemplating to visit was Gangtok
in Sikkim. I along with my family and my friend’s
family went on a 6 day trip to Sikkim. I would like to share my experience with
you through this article.
Sikkim
is a small state, in the North East part of India with a small population of
just 5.5 lakh people. The state is surrounded by 3 countries, Bhutan, Nepal and
China. As a result, Gangtok serves as an army base, to secure the protection at
the borders. It was interesting to know, that Sikkim was an independent country
till 1975, after which it became a part of India. Though Sikkim has their own
state language, Sikkimese, most people speak Nepalese. Of course, they can
converse in Hindi too. The nearest airport to reach Sikkim, is Bagdogra in West
Bengal. From there it is a 5 hour drive on the hilly terrain to Gangtok.
Sikkim
is divided into 4 districts, North Sikkim , East Sikkim, South Sikkim and West
Sikkim. Our tour spanned across 3 districts, excepting for West Sikkim. Gangtok
is in East Sikkim and also the capital of the state.
On
our way to Gangtok, there was a place where we could do white water rafting at
the Teesta river. It was so much of thrill and fun. There are a number of
attractions in and around Gangtok, such as Buddhist Monasteries, Flower
Gardens, Temples, Falls and the Tsmogo lake located at 12,000ft above sea
level, making it the most popular tourist destination. We spend 2 days in
Gangtok seeing all these places.
Though
Gangtok is beautiful, there are a lot more less popular places that are even
more beautiful. For instance, Lachung and Yamthang, which are located in North
Sikkim are extremely beautiful, as nature is in it’s pristine best. Lachung is
a beautiful place, with mountains on all sides with a stream of river flowing
in the middle of the town. Driving another 25 kms upward, we reached Yamthang
which has a valley of flowers. Beautiful flowers of red, pink, white and purple
cover the place, making it a treat for our eyes.
The
next day, we proceeded to a place called Namchi in South Sikkim. Namchi, has a
beautiful view point of the world’s third largest peak, Kanchenjunga. There is
also a Shiva Mandir called Chardham, which encompasses a mega size statue of
Lord Shiva.
After
spending a night there, we proceeded back to the Bagdogra airport, carrying beautiful
memories of Sikkim.
A
few things worth being mentioned are, the cleanliness, discipline and
friendliness of the people there. It is just amazing and worth emulating for
every other Indian state. There is no litter thrown outside. Every cab has a
garbage bag in which the waste is put and later disposed by the cab driver. If
any passenger is caught throwing any litter out of the car, then the cab driver
is fined Rs.1000/- so they are quite concerned about this. Also there is no
overtaking of lanes. If they overtake, there is a spot fine of Rs.5000/- This
law and order mechanism ensures cleanliness and discipline in the state.
A
saying goes, “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations”. This
perfectly matches with Sikkim. As it is a hilly terrain and as about 50% of the
road are just dangerous dirt roads, we were to able to cover an average of only
20kms per hour. Though we spent hours of travelling, beauty enveloped us from all
sides, making every sight an awesome experience.
No
wonder, Sikkim is called the Shangri la of India. It is definitely a place,
everyone must visit at least once.
D. Senthil Kannan,
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