Travel style · Sikkim
Monasteries in Sikkim
Gompas, dzongs and the mornings they keep
Ladakh, Spiti, Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal and the Nepal Himalaya hold some of the oldest Buddhist monasteries still in use. We time visits to morning prayers and festival days, and explain the murals, masks and rules of each house.
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsA monastery visit is best at its own hours. Most gompas hold morning prayers between 6 and 8 am, when lamps are lit and the hall fills with chant. Arrive then and you see a working house rather than a museum.
Sikkim is India's second-smallest state, a steep wedge between Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan that climbs from 300 m on the Teesta to Kangchenjunga at 8,586 m. Come for Gangtok, the monasteries of Pelling and Yuksom, and the permit-only high lakes of the north and east. Go March to May or October to December; plan seven to ten nights.
Trips
Monasteries trips in Sikkim
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Comfort
Sikkim monasteries and ridges, 6 nights
Private car with driver
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Saver
Sikkim west by shared jeep, 6 nights
Shared jeeps and local taxis
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Signature
Sikkim heritage hotels, 6 nights
Private SUV with driver and local guide
6 places
Where to go
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Gangtok
Sikkim's ridge-top capital and base for the north and east
Photo: Tushar2486 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lachen
The Lachenpa village on the road to Gurudongmar
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Lachung
A valley village of the Lachungpas, base for Yumthang
Photo: Santanu Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Pelling
Kangchenjunga views, Pemayangtse and the ruins of Rabdentse
Photo: Devsutapabublu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Ravangla
A ridge town with a giant Buddha and Sikkim's only tea garden
Photo: Kothanda Srinivasan · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Yuksom
Sikkim's first capital and the trailhead for Goecha La
Experiences
Days that fit the style
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
An evening on MG Marg and in Lal Bazaar
Walk Gangtok's car-free main street at dusk, then take the stairways down to Lal Bazaar for chhurpi, fermented greens a…
Photo: Anjan Kumar Kundu · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Rumtek monastery and the golden stupa
Cross the valley to Rumtek, the largest monastery in Sikkim, rebuilt in the 1960s as the seat of the Karma Kagyu lineag…
Photo: Drmarathe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Tibetology museum and the Do Drul Chorten
Spend a morning with Sikkim's best collection of Buddhist art at the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, then walk five mi…
Photo: Prof Ranga Sai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lachen monastery above the village
Climb to the village monastery above Lachen, a Nyingma gompa at the heart of Lachenpa religious life, with painted wall…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Thangu and the Chopta valley meadows
On the way to or from Gurudongmar, stop at Thangu, a small settlement at about 3,900 m, and visit the nearby Chopta val…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
An evening with a Lachenpa family
Spend your Lachen night in a family homestay rather than a lodge. Sit by the kitchen stove, eat rice, dal, local greens…
Photo: Amitabha Gupta · CC BY 4.0 · Commons
Morning at Lachung monastery
Walk or drive up to the village monastery above the Lachung Chu before your Yumthang trip or on a spare morning. It is …
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
A walk through Lachung village
Spend two hours walking the lanes of Lachung, across the suspension bridge and between wooden homes, orchards and small…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
Photo: Indrajit Das · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Budget
Lachung village homestays
Family homes across Lachung's hamlets take guests in a few rooms each, with home-cooked dinners and breakfasts. Th…
Photo: Kothanda Srinivasan · CC BY 2.0 · Commons
Budget
Yuksom village homestays
Small family homestays and lodges around Yuksom's bazaar and on the village edges offer simple rooms, home-cooked …
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Hotel Tibet
A long-established mid-range hotel near Paljor Stadium, a few minutes' walk from MG Marg, decorated in Tibetan sty…
Photo: IamBumba · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Netuk House
A family-run heritage guesthouse in a traditional Sikkimese home off Tibet Road, known for its painted interiors a…
Photo: Santanu Paul · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
The Chumbi Mountain Retreat
A mid-range resort in upper Pelling with rooms facing Kangchenjunga, a restaurant and gardens. A comfortable base …
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
The Elgin Nor-Khill
Built in 1932 as the royal guest house of the Chogyal of Sikkim, the Nor-Khill is Gangtok's classic heritage hotel…