Gangtok - Sikkim’s Pride And India’s Pot of Gold

The beautiful and glorious landscape is not the only thing that's happening in Sikkim. The people are warm and welcoming and their culture, mighty rich. Gangtok offers its visitors a sea of experiences from the mind boggling view of the whole area from certain points of the town to the introduction of its rich culture in the monasteries and festivals. This articles tells you of the places you should visit on your stay there.

Located in the Eastern Himalayan range at an elevation of 1,650 metres is the capital and the largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim - Gangtok. Gangtok is a municipality which rose to prominence as a popular Buddhist pilgrimage site after the construction of Enchey Monastery in 1840. The town’s current population of over 100,000 belongs to different ethnicities such as Nepalis, Lepchas and Bhutia.

Gangtok, no doubt, is the centre of Sikkim’s tourism industry. It contributes highly to the economy of Sikkim through its tourism and is one of the forerunners of the tourism destinations in the whole north eastern region of India. After India won its independence from Britain in 1947, Sikkim chose to remain an independent monarchy, with Gangtok as its capital. In 1975, after the integration with the union of India, Gangtok was made India's 22nd state capital. The scenic beauty of the place and the temperate climate is blends beautiful to make it a perfect tourist destination. Sikkim is one of the cleanest state in India. Highly well organised and well maintained with proper discipline. It is also the only smoke free state in the whole country. It is illegal to smoke or sell cigarettes anywhere in within the boundaries of the state. If found you may have to pay a fine on your first offence. Littering and spitting public area is also prohibited and liable to fine of INR200. The lights are normally out by 9 pm in this part of India although the pubs are normally open till 11pm. The pubs normally play the type of music the native people listen to, which is normally a mixture of western music with some hindi pop tunes in between. Sports and music are well received here with football, cricket and archery being the most popular sports played in this region. There are regular football matches and tournaments organised and it is often responded with a massive crowd turnout. There are many places to visit in Gangtok to have a good time. Here are some of them.

Enchey Monastery - A rich and historic monastery, busy and running where you can see monks living their normal regular life. A long walk up to the top but still worth the effort this place requires no entry fee but you could always leave a donation.

Hanuman Tok - A temple to Hanuman maintained by the Army. Very well maintained with excellent gardens around. Nice view of the Himalayas with Kanchanjunga visible in the distance amongst the clouds. Get there before by afternoon and watch the sun set in the best view.

Tsomgo Lake - A must visit! The snow clad terrain with mountain peaks wearing snow caps makes a glorious view that leaves you speechless. The yak ride by the side of the lake is the cherry on the cake.

Tashi View Point - The best view of the whole landscape set at an altitude of 6000 feet, the Tashi view point is a clean and a beautifully well maintained spot perfect to capture the majestic view with you camera.

Banjhakri Falls and Seven sisters waterfall - These are the two places you need to visit if you want to see a real natural waterfall. It does not get better than this. The cool fresh water and the continuous sound of flowing water is refreshing and take you to another space and time

Palzor Stadium - If you are a fan of football, whether you love playing or watching it, this stadium will give you the thrills. The main centre of all the biggest football matches in Sikkim, this is definitely worth a visit.

Pub 25 - An upscale pub right in the heart of MG Road, this place has an amazing ambience with great drinks and tasty food. This is one place that you can go and loosen up after a long and tiring day.

Gangtok is a beautiful location for a holiday destination. With more and more people travelling to this part of India, Gangtok began to grew as the talk of the region. Tourism is flourishing and Sikkim is trying its best to give the visitors the best it has to offer. This is one place you do not want to miss to add to your bucket list!

Sandeep is an experienced travel consultant, who enjoys travelling and loves to write about the destinations he has been to and shares his experience. He also writes about travel tips, world's best holiday destinations, best hotels in a destination,