Ravangla, South Sikkim
Ravangla stands at about 2,000 m (6,560 ft) on the road between Gangtok and Pelling, 66 km from one and 49 km from the other. Four of our routes stop here to break the long drive, and its rooms are simpler than either town's.
Photo: Pratap Chhetri / Unsplash
Buddha Park
In the old Rabong monastery grounds stands a Buddha 40 m (130 ft) tall, made of 60 metric tons of copper and built between 2006 and 2013. The 14th Dalai Lama consecrated it on 25 March 2013. At its foot lies the little Cho Djo lake.
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Around and beneath
Walk round the statue clockwise, keeping it on your right, then go in: a museum and a spiral gallery lie beneath it, worth half an hour. Published hours have been 09:00 to 17:00, and we confirm them for your dates.
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About 10 km away
New Ralang, raised in 1995, houses several hundred monks and a gilded Buddha almost two stories high; old Ralang, of 1768, stands a kilometer away. Doling Gompa, founded in 1718, is best an hour before sunset. In November, Ralang dances for Mahakala.
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Tendong, about 2,600 m
From Damthang a path of about 6 km climbs through reserve forest to the top of Tendong, about 2,600 m (8,530 ft). Lepcha tradition holds the hill rose to keep their ancestors above a great flood. On top: a small monastery of 1955 and a tower of about 15 m (50 ft).
Photo: Arjis Kundu / Pexels
Temi
On Tendong's lower slopes lies Temi, the 177-hectare tea garden Sikkim's last Chogyal set up in 1969. From March to October visitors can pick leaf and see the factory; from November it rests, and the visit becomes a tasting at the garden shop.
Photo: Harsh Suthar / Pexels
One night, or two
Most travelers pass Ravangla at lunch. A night here lets you see the Buddha in late light and again at 09:00, when the park opens, before the drive west. Ask us to put it between your Gangtok and Pelling nights.
Photo: Anita Prasad / Pexels