Gangtok, Sikkim, India

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Gangtok ("top of the hill"), capital of Sikkim state, lies at 5,600 ft. It was the seat of the kingdom of Sikkim until the monarchy was abolished (1975) and Sikkim became part of India in 1976. The town, a market centre for corn, rice, pulses, and oranges, was an important point on the India-Tibet trade route via Nathula (Nathu Pass), 21 km northeast, until the border with Tibet was closed in 1962. From Gangtok the North Sikkim Highway (1962) reaches the Tibetan border areas via Lachung and Lachen. The town's landscape is marked by the former royal palace and chapel, two monasteries, the open-air Lall Market, and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (1958; a centre for research in Mahayana Buddhism). The noted Buddhist monastery of Rumtek and the royal cremation ground at Lukshiyama lie nearby. The population includes Nepalese, Tibetans, Lepchas, and Indians.  [Adapted from Lonely Planet India; Oct 05]

Gangtok (more)	Namgyal Institute of Tibetology	Inside the NIT museum	Ridge park
Do-Dul chorten (pagoda)			Prayer lamps
Do-Dul chorten (pagoda)			Picnicking schoolgirls
Enchey gompa (monastery)	Boy monks at Enchey	East Sikkim in October	Roadside waterfall
Tsomgo (Changu) lake, 3720 m			Army baba temple (1, 2)
Yak rider (more yaks)			Nathula, India-China border
Rumtek Dharma Chakra Center (info)
Rumtek entrance	Rumtek gompa	View of entrance from gompa	Wall art (more)
Monks at Rumtek monastery	Karma Shri Nalanda Institute of Buddhist studies ▒	Visitors chatting up monk	View from golden pagoda