Gangtok Sightseen:
2nd March:
We woke up approx 7am in the morning.Wrick called his one of friend Palzor(Sonam Palzor Bhutia). He is very friendlier person. He picked us Near High Court.
We first visited Hanuman Tok. It was an awesome place. It's located upper reaches of Gangtok, approx 11km from Gangtok city, at an altitude of approx 7,200 ft and on a road that branches off from the Gantok-Nathula Highway.
It was a cloudy day, So Himalayan mountain view was missing but it gave the feeling of high-rise view...It is totally maintained by Indian Army. You can experience the hot tea which was free. There is a large ground where lots of prayer flags were hanging. Wrick showed me a wrist band that he tied there last Dec,2016 when he decided he would left Sikkim.
From here we were decided to go Ganesh Tok. The road towards the Ganesh Tok was awesome.....
Ganesh tok: This is a temple of Lord Ganesha located about 6kms from Gangtok town at an altitude of over 6,000 ft. The circular viewing area is marvelous. You get excellent views of the valley, snow peaks and parts of Gangtok town.Wrick showed me the Gangtok famous TV tower from here.
There was some shops where people offer to wore traditional dress. I never wore such dress as it feels to cartoon each time.But this time Paulzor insist me to wore it.The shopkeeper asked us Rs. 50/- for the same. First time in my life I wore the traditional dress of Sikkimies. Paulzore & wrick took lots of photos. But when I saw them after returning home, it looked me really cartoon.
Our next destination was Banjhakri Falls which is about 7 kilometres from Gangtok city.
The Banjhakri Falls and Energy Park is a tourist attraction near Gangtok. It displays document the Ban Jhakri, or traditional shamanic healer who worships spirits living in caves around the falls. As per Wikipedia. Ban means "forest" and jhakri means "healer". There is some adventure sports option available. The entry ticket is 50/- per person and parking for a vehicle like Innova is 30/-.
We took lots of pics here also.
Our next destination was Rumtek Monastery.
Rumtek Monastery :
This monastery is located in Rumtek, approx 23kms away from Gangtok city. At the entry there were some army person who wanted the ID proof.I had Aadhar, Wrick & Paulzor had driving licence.We entered the gate.It started raning. From the gate at the base, it requires an uphill walk (about half a kilometer) to reach up to the main monastery.
Rumtek monastery is one of the largest in Sikkim and belongs to the Kargyu sect of Buddhists which originated in the 12th century in Tibet. The architecture of the monastery is one of the finest in the world and resembles the original one in Tsurphu, Tibet.
It was built by Gyalwa Karmapa in 1960s, who was the 16th Karmapa of the monastery. Karmapa is the head of a monastery. He came from Tibet and settled here when the Chinese invaded Tibet. However the 16th Karmapa passed away in 1981. Since his death, search began for the 17th Karmapa. After about 10 years, a boy named Ugen Thinley from Tibet was identified by Dalai Lama as the next reincarnation of Karmapa.
There is wishing pillar infront of the monastery.People beleve thatif anyone throw coin standing infront of the pillar & the coin crosses the pillar, your wish would be fulfill.Wrick tried that & his coin was able to cross the pilar.
The main building of the Rumtek monastery is three storeyed. It houses some of the rarest Buddhist religious artwork in the world in form of wall murals & thankas (scrolls with intricate hand paintings), 1001 miniature golden models of Buddha etc.
It is also a world renowned center for Kargyu teachings. The legend says that after the first Karmapa ended his long years of meditation in a cave, he was greeted by 1000 fairies each one of who gave him a strand of hair. All those hairs were woven into a hat. It is said that the same hat is now in custody of Rumtek Monastery. But the hat has to be kept in a box or held by hand, otherwise it would fly off.
The ground floor of the main monastery building has a large prayer hall. The hall has large hand painted and intricate wall murals, thankas, silk paintings and statues. You won't be allowed to use camera inside though. The first floor is where the 16th Karmapa lived. The top floor has a terrace and a small stupa. There is a large courtyard in front of the main monastery building. The courtyard has few other buildings surrounding it where the monks live.
Just outside and at the backside a stairway leads to the Nalanda Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies. You will find a huge painting of Lord Buddha here. And just in front of the institute building, there is a lawn.
Just opposite to the Nalanda Institute is a building where you will find the Golden Stupa of 16th Karmapa which is made of pure gold. No camera allowed here for obvious reasons. Actually the monastery also houses other precious items like the Black Hat (known as the Vajra Mukut) which is studded with gold, diamond, ruby and many other precious stones. It was presented to the 5th Karmapa in 15th century by the then emperor of China. No wonder you will find so many sentries at Rumtek Monastery right from its entrance and all over.
We came back MG Marg at about 5pm.Then we talked to a known agent for next day Nathula-bab mandir-Tsomogo Lake tour. He asked us to submit the required documents(ID proof & passport size photo)for permit.We handed over him the documents. We came back home at about 6:00pm.
Our tomorrow plan was Tsomogo Lake-Nathula-Baba Mandir.
2nd March:
We woke up approx 7am in the morning.Wrick called his one of friend Palzor(Sonam Palzor Bhutia). He is very friendlier person. He picked us Near High Court.
It was a cloudy day, So Himalayan mountain view was missing but it gave the feeling of high-rise view...It is totally maintained by Indian Army. You can experience the hot tea which was free. There is a large ground where lots of prayer flags were hanging. Wrick showed me a wrist band that he tied there last Dec,2016 when he decided he would left Sikkim.
From here we were decided to go Ganesh Tok. The road towards the Ganesh Tok was awesome.....
Ganesh tok: This is a temple of Lord Ganesha located about 6kms from Gangtok town at an altitude of over 6,000 ft. The circular viewing area is marvelous. You get excellent views of the valley, snow peaks and parts of Gangtok town.Wrick showed me the Gangtok famous TV tower from here.
There was some shops where people offer to wore traditional dress. I never wore such dress as it feels to cartoon each time.But this time Paulzor insist me to wore it.The shopkeeper asked us Rs. 50/- for the same. First time in my life I wore the traditional dress of Sikkimies. Paulzore & wrick took lots of photos. But when I saw them after returning home, it looked me really cartoon.
Our next destination was Banjhakri Falls which is about 7 kilometres from Gangtok city.
The Banjhakri Falls and Energy Park is a tourist attraction near Gangtok. It displays document the Ban Jhakri, or traditional shamanic healer who worships spirits living in caves around the falls. As per Wikipedia. Ban means "forest" and jhakri means "healer". There is some adventure sports option available. The entry ticket is 50/- per person and parking for a vehicle like Innova is 30/-.
We took lots of pics here also.
Our next destination was Rumtek Monastery.
Rumtek Monastery :
This monastery is located in Rumtek, approx 23kms away from Gangtok city. At the entry there were some army person who wanted the ID proof.I had Aadhar, Wrick & Paulzor had driving licence.We entered the gate.It started raning. From the gate at the base, it requires an uphill walk (about half a kilometer) to reach up to the main monastery.
Rumtek monastery is one of the largest in Sikkim and belongs to the Kargyu sect of Buddhists which originated in the 12th century in Tibet. The architecture of the monastery is one of the finest in the world and resembles the original one in Tsurphu, Tibet.
It was built by Gyalwa Karmapa in 1960s, who was the 16th Karmapa of the monastery. Karmapa is the head of a monastery. He came from Tibet and settled here when the Chinese invaded Tibet. However the 16th Karmapa passed away in 1981. Since his death, search began for the 17th Karmapa. After about 10 years, a boy named Ugen Thinley from Tibet was identified by Dalai Lama as the next reincarnation of Karmapa.
There is wishing pillar infront of the monastery.People beleve thatif anyone throw coin standing infront of the pillar & the coin crosses the pillar, your wish would be fulfill.Wrick tried that & his coin was able to cross the pilar.
The main building of the Rumtek monastery is three storeyed. It houses some of the rarest Buddhist religious artwork in the world in form of wall murals & thankas (scrolls with intricate hand paintings), 1001 miniature golden models of Buddha etc.
It is also a world renowned center for Kargyu teachings. The legend says that after the first Karmapa ended his long years of meditation in a cave, he was greeted by 1000 fairies each one of who gave him a strand of hair. All those hairs were woven into a hat. It is said that the same hat is now in custody of Rumtek Monastery. But the hat has to be kept in a box or held by hand, otherwise it would fly off.
The ground floor of the main monastery building has a large prayer hall. The hall has large hand painted and intricate wall murals, thankas, silk paintings and statues. You won't be allowed to use camera inside though. The first floor is where the 16th Karmapa lived. The top floor has a terrace and a small stupa. There is a large courtyard in front of the main monastery building. The courtyard has few other buildings surrounding it where the monks live.
Just outside and at the backside a stairway leads to the Nalanda Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies. You will find a huge painting of Lord Buddha here. And just in front of the institute building, there is a lawn.
Just opposite to the Nalanda Institute is a building where you will find the Golden Stupa of 16th Karmapa which is made of pure gold. No camera allowed here for obvious reasons. Actually the monastery also houses other precious items like the Black Hat (known as the Vajra Mukut) which is studded with gold, diamond, ruby and many other precious stones. It was presented to the 5th Karmapa in 15th century by the then emperor of China. No wonder you will find so many sentries at Rumtek Monastery right from its entrance and all over.
We came back MG Marg at about 5pm.Then we talked to a known agent for next day Nathula-bab mandir-Tsomogo Lake tour. He asked us to submit the required documents(ID proof & passport size photo)for permit.We handed over him the documents. We came back home at about 6:00pm.
Our tomorrow plan was Tsomogo Lake-Nathula-Baba Mandir.
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