Trip Fact
Trip Name : Sikkim - Monastic Tour of Sikkim, Darjeeling
and Kalimpong
Location : Sikkim
Category : Tours Packages
Destinations :
Darjeeling - Gangtok – Kalimpong
Duration : 05 Nights and 06 Days
Best time to Visit :
March To June & September To December
Sikkim's near about 200 monasteries or Gompas belonging to
the Nyingma and Kagyu order have not only been influencing the cultural
heritage and lifestyle of the people, but also demonstrates the ancient rituals
in practice. Devoted Lamas robed in red, chant ancient mantras to the rhythm of
drums and trumpets while soft lights flicker from decorative lamps placed
before statues of the great Guru Padmasambhava. Feel the peace and quiet of
being one with nature and close to the almighty as sacred words mingle with the
whirring prayer wheels.
The Gompas are adorned with life-like frescoes of hoary
Buddhist legends, rare silk and brocade Thangkas. Also preserved here, are
ancient Tibetan manuscripts, exquisitely carved wood work and icons of silver
and gold.
Day 01: Arrive Siliguri
/ Bagdogra / New Jalpaiguri – Darjeeling (85 km, 3 hours)
Meeting & assistance on arrival and transfer to
Darjeeling. Overnight at the hotel in Darjeeling.
Day 02: Darjeeling
Full day sightseeing of Darjeeling. It includes ;
Early morning sunrise view from Tiger Hill. The view from
this point is unforgettable, for colours changing from grey to pink and to
luminous gold. Mt. Everest (8,848m), the world’s highest peak is visible from
Tiger Hill but being 170 km away does not stand out as strikingly as the nearer
Kanchenjunga.After breakfast, visit Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, the
house of Late Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa who first climbed Mt. Everest with
Edmund Hillary in 1953. Then visit Natural History Museum, Lloyd Botanical
Garden established in 1878 and the Zoo, specializing in high altitude species.
Afternoon visit to Tibetan Refugee Self Help Centre which
produces and sells a wide range of Tibetan artifacts and curios. Here you can
see Tibetan craftsman making traditional items like carpets, woolen boots, wood
carvings and leather boots. The centre was established in 1954 to rehabilitate
those refugees who had fled Tibet with Dalai Lama in the wake of the Chinese
invasion.
Overnight at the hotel in Darjeeling.
Day 03: Darjeeling –
Gangtok (98 km, 4.1/2 hours)
After breakfast drive to Gangtok. Afternoon free for
shopping and leisure. Overnight at the hotel in Gangtok.
Day 04: Gangtok
Full day sightseeing including visit to ;
Enchey Monastery; it is a beautiful monastery, in an equally
beautiful setting, approached along an avenue of hundreds of multi-coloured
prayer flags.
Government Institute of Cottage Industries; here you can
watch young students being taught the traditional art of thangkha paintings
along with weaving, wood carving and carpet making.
Also visit the Institute of Tibetology, housed in a
beautiful building, built in traditional Tibetan style, with mural decorated
columns and a wonderful smell of beeswax polish from the creaky wooden floor.
Then drive through picturesque, terraced rice fields to the
headquarter of Dharma Chakra Centres (Rumtek Monastery), the present seat of
His Holiness, the Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyupa sect. Said to be the
replica of the monastery at Tsurphu, Tibet with its traditional architecture,
exquisite paintings, intricate wood work, housing treasures of manuscripts and
icons. Rumtek is a splendid example of Tibetan monastic art.
Overnight at the
hotel in Gangtok.
Day 05: Gangtok –
Kalimpong (77 km, 3 hours)
Morning drive to Kalimpong. Afternoon visit to Tharpa
Choling Monastery, belonging to the Gelugpa sect of Dalai Lama. Then drive to
Deolo Hill, the highest point in Kalimpong at 5,500 ft, which offers good view
of the
surrounding region. It also has two water reservoirs, the source of
Kalimpong drinking water.Then visit Zong-Dog Palri Fo-brang Monastery followed
by visit to Gauripur House, the favorite retreat of Rabindra Nath Tagore
who
wrote many of his works here. Overnight at the hotel in Kalimpong.
Day 06: Kalimpong –
Siliguri / Bagdogra airport / New Jalpaiguri (80 km, 3 hours