Sikkim, late August or September
Once a year Sikkim honors Kanchenjunga as its guardian. The festival falls on the 15th day of the seventh Tibetan month, usually late August or early September, and its home is the royal chapel in Gangtok.
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The story
Pang Lhabsol also keeps an oath of blood brotherhood sworn between the Lepcha chief Thekong Tek and the Bhutia Khye Bumsa, with Kanchenjunga standing witness. In that telling, Sikkim's Buddhism is a treaty with the Lepcha.
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Kabi Lungchok, 17 km north of Gangtok
Stone pillars at Kabi Lungchok mark the treaty, and the name means the stone erected by our blood. Ritual prayers are still held there every year, and the road north towards Mangan and Lachung passes right by.
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Gangtok
Tsuklakhang is where Sikkim's kings were crowned, and it is still a working chapel, not a museum. Its courtyard opens for festivals, above all Pang Lhabsol; on other days visitors are walked to its gate and told its story there.
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The dance
On the day the chapel courtyard fills for the Pangtoed, a warrior dance choreographed by the third Chogyal, Chador Namgyal. It honors Kanchenjunga as the guardian deity of Sikkim.
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The name
The mountain's name was read as the five treasures of the high snow, and Lhopo families still name the five: salt; gold; turquoise and precious stones; the scriptures; and armor with grain and medicine.
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Pelling, West Sikkim
Away from Gangtok the day is quieter: in Pelling you simply look north at the deity itself. In late August the rains are easing but not gone, and cloud often climbs to meet the summit by mid morning.
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Planning
The date moves with the Tibetan calendar and is confirmed with Gangtok before a stay is fixed. It falls at the tail of the rains, so a plan built around it keeps a spare day for the road up from the plains.
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