Sightseeing places of Gangtok
The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology
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.
The Institute has won both national and international acclaim and the scholars from all over the world come here to study.
The Government Institute of Handicrafts
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
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.
The Saramasa Garden
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!!
Tashi View Point
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.
The Himalayan Zoological Park
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.
The Lal Bazaar
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.
Excursions of Gangtok
1. Tsomgo Lake:
Around 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.
2. Nathula:
The 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.