Frankly speaking, 3 days are not enough to explore Gangtok wholly and not everyone may have time constraints like us. We tried our best to make the most out of our trip but still, we wish if we could have afforded more time. Firstly we did not cover the North Sikkim(Lachung, Yumthang Valley) because when we had a talk with the cab driver he suggested us to do East Sikkim trip and Local Sightseeing aaand (the dramatic, prolonged "and") believe me I have no regrets.
(image: Prayer Wheels in Ranka Monastery)
I am going to list down each place day-wise. Also, we didn't get too much information about the places because the local cab driver chose to drive peacefully. Everything I have written here is purely my experience talking and the research I did on the internet. We did not do many videos because we were enjoying the views while exploring the place. Also, we never thought we are going to make a blog someday. So let's get started.
DAY 1
1. Handicraft Emporium
So our first destination was this exhibition. It was so beautiful, they have traditional dresses designed by handmade fabric, antique pieces, journals, etc. This handicraft sales emporium is a part of the Directorate of Handicrafts & Handlooms (DHH) complex. DHH was established in 1957. It is about 1km from MG Marg.
I bought a little Memo book from the emporium.
You can check out items they make under Products & Crafts section in the official site linked below:
2. Bakthang Fall
In the local language ‘Bak’ means forest and ‘thang’ meaning meadow or place. The Bakthang waterfall is only 20 minutes drive from Gangtok town. It is located along 31A National Highway connecting to North Sikkim. The natural spring water source of this falls originates from the dense vegetation above this site which is preserved as a Smriti Ban.
Adventure enthusiasts can do rappelling (Sliding down from an elevation on a prefixed rope) over the fall which is organized by the local tourism committee of the area.
At the location of the fall, there was a stall that offered photos with this traditional dress, The Kho (Sikkimese) or Bakhu (Nepali). The dress for men is almost the same apart from the jewellery and the cap.
3. Ranka Monastery
It is also known as Lingdum Monastery or Ranka Lingdum or Pal Zurmang Kagyud Monastery).
The prayer hall was aesthetic, you simply cannot understand how beautiful it was until you see it. Outside the prayer hall, there was an extended terrace for magnificent views of the mountains. The sunset view from the terrace is wonderful. Near the entrance of the monastery, there was a small room in which a huge prayer bell has been placed and the people were revolving around it while saying their prayers.
From the inner sanctum at the upper level, you can see the young lamas training and playing around in the courtyard below. They live in a hostel like structure mentioned below in the picture. I met a few of them and they were so generous to let us take their photos.
4. Tashi Viewpoint
It is a platform for taking views of the mountain, especially the Kanchenjunga peak. But due to our bad luck, there was way too much fog and we couldn't get the view. The viewpoint is built on a high platform with the dragons at the center. A small souvenir shop was also there and it was pretty good.
5. Lhasa Falls
On our way ahead from the viewpoint we stopped at this pretty waterfall. The driver told us that, these are the "Prayer Flags".One has to do rituals and then they can tie these flags on an appropriate spot. During the local sightseeing, one can easily find these flags almost everywhere along the roadside.
6. Plant Conservatory
It is located in Jawaharlal Nehru road. As the name suggests a variety of plants and flowers are spread over a large area with small pools here and there.
7.Ganesh Tok
Ganesh Tok is only 6kms from Gangtok Town. It is built on an elevated platform where lord Ganesha's idol sits in a small temple. One has to climb stairs to reach there. In front of the temple, there's a viewpoint from where you can have a mesmerizing view of the Gangtok town.
8. M.G.Road/Market
It is the cleanest city I have been to so far. The most beautiful thing about the roads is, there's a lot of potted flowers in the sideways. There's an overbridge at the main place with flowers all over it. The market in the alley is amazing, you can find almost everything at very reasonable rates. I personally found the local people really stylish and there was a sense of charm in everyone.
Best Place to Try the Local Cuisine
Nimtho- This was a restaurant in the main M.G.Market area having local cuisine. Here's one interesting thing about it, from the outside it was looking very expensive, the decor, the lighting, everything speaks of eliteness. So we were thinking a lot about whether to go there or not. Finally, we went there and literally got surprised by the amazing food and the reasonable rate like 300 bucks. The interiors were beautiful as the exterior, they served us Sikkimese cuisine, the special thali.
This may look like a very simple thali, but I bet you may not have heard the names of each food item. It's a Sikkimese thali consisting of kinema, Phing salad, Dalle chili and tomato chutney, Sidra, gundruk Shimi ka achar(fermented leafy green vegetables).
Also, we wanted to eat a very popular dish named "Thukpa" which is a noodle soup of Tibetan cuisine, but due to the unavailability, we didn't have a chance. Finally, the day came to an end as the rain drenched us in the way to our hotel.
P.S. The post was getting too long so I divided it into 3 parts, so you can have a glimpse of each place clearly.
Thank you for reading. I hope you like it. :)