The most prestigious of its kinds in India, the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology is about 1.5 km from the main town of Gangtok. Housed in a beautiful building, built in the traditional Tibetan style, with murals, decorated columns and a wonderful smell of beeswax polish from the creaky wooden floor, the Institute was built in 1958 with the main motto to promote Tibetan studies and Buddhist philosophy. It houses a rare collection of prized objects of Buddhist importance. It has a rare collection of 30,000 books, Tantric documents, rare manuscripts written in gold on the bark of a poisonous tree, antique Thankas and 200 icons, all prized objects of art for the Buddhist world. Moreover, it also houses relics of monks, samples of Lepcha scripts, masks and sacred objects like Kapali, a bowl made from a human skull, and the carku, a flute made from a thigh bone. \r\nThe Institute has won both national and international acclaim and the scholars from all over the world come here to study.
The main aim to establish this institute was to promote and keep alive the local traditional handicrafts. It has some exquisite items and also very exclusive handicrafts pertaining to the local tradition. Not only one can view the best of the handicrafts of Sikkim here but also can buy them as their souvenirs.
The deer park is an attraction not only for the rare Musk deer and the Himalayan spotted deer that one can see here, but also the beautiful view that this park gives of the mountains and the tea estates.
A place where one can see at its full bloom! The flowers and the orchids bloom with all the possible colours and shapes. The garden is home to Sikkim's exotic orchids and other tropical temperate plants. An excellent leisure spot one can not miss out on. A delight for the eyes with a bed of flowers laid down is certainly mesmerizing. A shower of colours that one can not even imagine takes the shape of flowers to sooth the eyes!!
It hardly takes fifteen minutes drive from the centre of Sikkim to reach and have a breathtaking view of the majestic mountain, the Kanchandzonga. If the skies are clear and it is early in the morning then one can also site the Mount Siniolchu from here.
This huge park has species of wild animals that are not found elsewhere in India. The snow-leopards, the red Pandas and the deer can be spotted in semi natural habitat with rich natural surroundings.
Sunday is the day for a weekly market that comes alive in the capital city called the Lal bazaar. The specialty is that various ethnic groups from different villages gather here to sell their goods. People from various villages come hereto buy these goods. The marketplace rings to a cacophony of sound-the babble of ethnic tongues, various prayers and other things. But truly an event not to be missed when one can see the whole of Sikkim together.
1. Tsomgo Lake: \r\nAround 40 kms from Gangtok is the famous Tsomgo Lake. The serene lake situated at an altitude of 3,780 meters means Source of lake in Bhutia language. It is 15 meters deep and about 1 km. long. This oval shaped lake remains frozen during winters and between May to August various kinds of flowers bloom alongside the lake. It is also the ideal habitat of the Red panda.\r\n\r\n2. Nathula:\r\nThe attraction of Nathula is the Nathula pass at an altitude of 14,200 feet virtually on the borders of Tibet. It is one of the highest motorable roads in the world with natural surroundings on the way to keep one busy.
The Do-Drul Chorten was built by the Venerable Trulshi Rimpoche, head of the Nyingma order of Tibetan Buddhism in 1945. Arguably the most popular Stupa (a dome-shaped Buddhist shrine) in Sikkim, Do Drul Chorten is located at a short walking distance from the Research Institute of Tibetology and atop a hillock. It is surrounded by 108 prayer wheels on which Buddhist mantras are engraved. The monks and tourists swirl the wheels, which is equivalent to completing 108 beads of recital. The gold plated steeple atop the Chorten is what Do Drul is famous for. The deity enshrined on top of the Chorten or Stupa is known as Dorjee Phurpa or Vajra Kilaya. The Stupa is surrounded by Chorten Lakhang, where there are two huge statues of Guru Rimpoche (Guru Padmasambhava).
Situated on a beautiful hilltop near Gangtok TV Tower is this magnificent Nyingmapa Monastery of Enchey Sangag Rabtenling. It's famous for its Chines Pagoda style design. It belongs to the Nyingma order of Vajrayana Buddhism.
Phodang Monastery, located in the town of Phodang, some 28 km north of Gangtok, is counted amongst the six most important monasteries of Sikkim. Although it was first constructed by Chogyal Gyurmed Namgyal in the first half of the eighteenth century, the structure has been rebuilt and is today one of the most beautiful monasteries in Sikkim. The walls of the monastery are adorned with beautiful murals, paintings, and frescos.
The most famous Monastery of Sikkim is around 24 kms from Gangtok, the capital of the State. Colloquially known as the Rumtek Dharma Chakra, it is the seat of the Kagyu order one of the major Tibetan Buddhist sects. It was constructed by His Holiness, the late 16th Gyalwa Karmapa in 1960 and is believed to be a replica of the original Kagyurpa Monastery in Tsurphu, Tibet. The Monastery houses some of the world's most unique religious scriptures, manuscripts and religious art objects. At fifteen minutes walking distance is the old Rumtek monastery which was originally built in 1730 by the ninth Karmapa but was destroyed by fire and had to be reconstructed to the present state. Another attraction of this Monastery is the Tsechu dance that is organized in the month of June every year.