Gangtok in Photographs

 I am sharing here some of the photographs I shot in my recent two day trip to Gangtok, capital of Sikkim.
Click on photographs to enlarge them.

Cloudy Morning at Gangtok

Maximum temperature was between 18-22°C and minimum was between 10-11°C

 

 Gangtok view from Tashi View point.

 

Governor of Sikkim's Residence!

Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (NIT)

Buddhists Manuscripts @NIT

Indian Leopards are the real beauty!

Himalayan Palm Civet

 

Red Panda

I have heard Pandas are lazy beings. After tracking through an obscure and muddy path to reach the backside of the pandas habitat, we saw these inside their hide resting in shade. Our guide poked it with a soft tree branch, it looked back and moved a bit away and slept again! 

Snow Leopard in full aggression behind the bars

Flora at Gangtok

 

Ubiquitous butterflies which are very rare in metro cities

 

Capturing the details

I missed Nathula More after this

Due to heavy rainfalls we didnt get a chance to visit Nathula Pass and Tsmongo Lake which are famous tourist attractions.

A waterfall at Gangtok- Me with my Father

 Rumtek Monastery

Buddhists Prayer wheels

Traditionally, the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is written in Sanskrit on the outside of the wheel. The benefits attributed to the practice of turning the wheel are vast. Not only does it help wisdom, compassion and bodhichitta arise in the practitioner, it also enhances siddhis (spiritual powers such as clairvoyance, precognition, reading others thoughts, etc.). Ref: Wikipedia here.

Buddhists believe when Gyana (knowledge) combines with Karuna (compassion), it leads to Bodhi i.e. enlightenment.

Prayer Flags- all around the city.

People following Buddhism tie these prayer flags in different areas. It is believed that when winds pass though these multicolored flags, it spreads mantras written on them in the environment. Thus making it sacred compassing good luck, good wishes and compassion for all. Every color has a different meaning. All white flags with mantras on them are tied as the prayers for dead. The colorful ones are for good luck to the people studying or starting some work or stepping into some other phase of their lives. - as told by the locals there.

To read more about them click here.

MG (Mahatma Gandhi) Road Market

This market offers branded commodities to local Sikkimese articles like masks, bamboo articles, small purses etc. and various eye-catching products from China and Tibet. (being a lady most of the displayed things were worth my attention-hard to resist)

A view from our Hotel's Room

Breath-taking misty world

I enjoyed this short trip. Thanks for dropping by. :)