Old Rumtek Gompa is an oasis of peace, 1.5km beyond Rumtek proper. Originally founded in 1734 but thoroughly rebuilt, the prayer hall has an intensely colourful interior and picnic areas on the lawns.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
25.1 MILES
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, known affectionately as the toy train, made its first journey along its precipice-topping, 2ft-wide tracks in 1881 and…
-
12.49 MILES
With a breathtaking backdrop of Himalayan peaks, the gigantic, 41m-tall Buddha statue is one of Sikkim's most iconic sights. Finished in 2013, it's…
-
18.4 MILES
This wobbly old temple is a peaceful, half-forgotten delight with appealingly naive paintings and an incredible 360-degree mountain panorama. There's no…
-
22.13 MILES
All aflutter with prayer flags, the Norbugang 'coronation park' is a historic woodland garden containing a small temple, a huge prayer wheel, a chorten…
-
13.4 MILES
Visible for miles, this 45m-high statue of Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche) is painted in shimmering copper and gilt and sits on a lotus plinth high above…
-
Namgyal Institute of Tibetology
3.35 MILES
The NIT's 1958 core building feels like a Tibetan fantasy palace, with corner towers, colourful mural frontage and a forest-glade setting. The main hall…
-
16.35 MILES
This unmissable feast of colour is a remarkable Hindu religious theme park crowning Solophuk hilltop, 5km southwest of Namchi. It brings together replicas…
-
4.28 MILES
Gangtok's 'royal' monastery has a very impressive centrepiece temple whose superb interior incorporates a pair of carved dragon columns flanking the main…
Nearby Sikkim attractions
0.37 MILES
Rumtek is Sikkim's most spiritually significant monastery complex. It's essentially a self-contained village with a colourful main prayer hall that was…
2. Namgyal Institute of Tibetology
3.35 MILES
The NIT's 1958 core building feels like a Tibetan fantasy palace, with corner towers, colourful mural frontage and a forest-glade setting. The main hall…
4 MILES
Layered amid peaceful forests, Lingdum Gompa is arguably the most photogenic monastery in the Gangtok area. Its centrepiece is a large, attractive…
4.28 MILES
Gangtok's 'royal' monastery has a very impressive centrepiece temple whose superb interior incorporates a pair of carved dragon columns flanking the main…
4.6 MILES
Flower-wise it's less exciting than many a British garden-centre shop, but a visit to this small, covered collection of potted plants is perversely…
4.94 MILES
On the city's northern outskirts, approached through rustling conifers, Enchey is a small but appealing Nyingma-Buddhist monastery that is, in a sense,…
5.31 MILES
If you're visiting the zoo, whose ticket booth is 50m away, it's well worth stopping at this viewpoint tower to survey a vast sweep of cityscape: notice…