AN ELGIN EXCLUSIVE FEATURE
The radiant city of Gangtok, in the foothills of the Himalayas is a peaceful and content town in itself. This is a great place to peacefully relax and introspect life.
Gangtok is an adventurous place, where you can trek, river-raft, and sightsee scenic beauties. The place has beautiful monasteries and Buddhist pilgrim sites that go back hundreds of years. Gangtok undoubtedly has a Buddhist flavour in the air.
Image by Tripadvisor
Young-monks-learning in Gangtok.
The Buddhist culture of living and residing in monasteries or places that look like them is a major part of Sikkim. This city has a large variety of vegetarian food and alcohol, although tobacco is banned here. Low priced beer, whiskey, brandy and rum, are available, alongside a local beer, Chhang. Chhang is an alcoholic beverage that keeps you warm, which goes perfectly with the cold winters of Sikkim. It is made with fermented cereals, consumed in bamboo vessels and drank through straws made out of bamboo.
In Gangtok the Hanuman Tok and Thakurbari are two Hindu temples known for their heritage. The Hanuman Tok, is maintained by Indian Army and it is famous for its beautiful architecture. The Thakurbari temple, is one of the oldest temples in Gangtok.
Rumtek and Enchey Monastery are an important part if you want to take a understand the beauty and serenity in Buddhism in order to achieve a successful spiritual tour.
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Enchey-monastery.
Enchey Monastery is also known as the solidarity temple of Gangtok. It is home to around 90 monks and houses a number of artefacts and religious objects.
At most of the monasteries, young monks are taught about their culture and lifestyle. A life without greed is what is expected from monks and those values are well-focused on since an early age.
Gangtok is the focus area for Buddhist teachings and enlightenment. The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, is one of the most prestigious religious educational institutes which has claimed to excel on subjects such as religion, history, culture and art.
Rumtek is the largest monastery in Sikkim and it beautifully demonstrates Tibetian architecture. The monastery has some of the rarest Buddhist religious art objects found in the world and is also a world renowned centre for Kargyu teachings.
Image by www.4to40.com
A young monk at the Rumtek Monastery.
Gangtok is the house of monks, and it is the place where they are taught. The monasteries in Gangtok have kept the culture of monks’ lifestyle intact with the Buddhist culture and heritage. This beautiful city can be called one of the most regarded Buddhist pilgrim cities.
