NamchiNamchi is a city and the administrative headquarter of the Namchi district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means Sky (Nam) High (Chi) in Sikkimese. Namchi is located at . It has an average elevation of . Namchi is situated at an altitude of 1,675 m (5500 feet) above sea level. It is situated at a distance of from the state capital Gangtok and from the town of Siliguri, the nearest railhead and airport. Namchi lies off the road between Melli and Jorethang.
Lake TsomgoTsomgo Lake, also known as Tsongmo Lake or Changgu Lake, is a glacial lake in the East Sikkim district of the Indian state of Sikkim, some from the capital Gangtok. Located at an elevation of , the lake remains frozen during the winter season. The lake surface reflects different colours with change of seasons and is held in great reverence by the local Sikkimese people. Buddhist monks prognosticated after studying the changing colours of the lake.
RhenockRhenock is a town in the Pakyong District in Sikkim, India, located on the border with the Kalimpong district of West Bengal. It lies 63 kilometres east of Gangtok, and 47 kilometres north of Kalimpong on the way to Jelepla Pass at an altitude of 1,040 metres. The word Rhe-nock (in Lepcha dialect) means Black Hill. Situated in the extreme east of Sikkim, Rhenock witnessed the establishment of the first police outpost in the state. Rhenock was covered with dense forest in and around the 13th century.
Tihar (festival)Tihar (also known as Deepawali and Yamapanchak) is a five-day Hindu festival celebrated in Nepal and the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal, particularly the towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, which host a large number of ethnic Indian Gorkha people. Tihar is analogous to the Indian festival of Diwali, the festival of lights, but some significant differences. Like with Diwali, Tihar is marked by lighting diyo inside and outside the home but unlike the Indian festival, the five days of Tihar include celebration and worship of the four creatures associated with the Hindu god of death Yama, with the final day reserved for people themselves.
Maghe SankrantiMaghe Sankranti (माघे सङ्क्रान्ति, माघि, Nepal Bhasa: घ्यःचाकु संल्हु) is a Nepali festival observed on the first of Magh in the Vikram Sambat (B.S) or Yele calendar bringing an end to the winter solstice containing month of Poush. Tharu people celebrate this particular day as new year. It is also regarded as the major government declared annual festival of the Magar community. Maghe Sankranti is similar to solstice festivals in other religious traditions. Observant Hindus take ritual baths during this festival.
Tharu peopleThe Tharu people are an ethnic group indigenous to the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official nationality by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Government of India recognizes the Tharu people as a scheduled tribe. The word थारू (thāru) is thought to be derived from sthavir meaning follower of Theravada Buddhism.
Maha ShivaratriMaha Shivaratri (महाशिवरात्रि) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Phalguna or Magha. The festival commemorates the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion that Shiva performs his divine dance, called the Tandava. It is a notable festival in Hinduism, marking a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world.
PakyongPakyong is a city and district headquarters of Pakyong district in the Indian state of Sikkim, located in the foothills of the Himalayas. It holds many Government Offices. Pakyong Airport is the only airport of Sikkim. The "National Research Centre for Orchids" (ICAR Institute) is also located here. There is a missionary run school called St. Xavier's, which ranked as one of the top two schools in Sikkim during the 1990s. Notable among its alumni are the Padma Shri awardee footballer Baichung Bhutia, who captain India.
JuniperJunipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Juniperus (dʒuːˈnɪpərəs ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa, throughout parts of western, central and southern Asia, east to eastern Tibet in the Old World, and in the mountains of Central America. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree lines on earth.
GyantseGyantse, officially Gyangzê Town (also spelled Gyangtse; ; ), is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region (after Lhasa, and Shigatse), but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities. The town is strategically located in the Nyang Chu valley on the ancient trade routes from the Chumbi Valley, Yatung and Sikkim, which met here.
