Sikkim
Just 10 minutes' stroll from Upper Pelling's Zero Point junction, the helipad is about the best viewpoint around, with almost 360-degree views.
The 'No Trespassing' signs are widely ignored except during emergencies or state visits, which is the only time that helicopters actually land here. During the walk up you'll have more views, notably the silhouette of Namchi's Char Dham on a far southern ridge top.
18.2 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…
19.27 MILES
Singalila National Park covers the Indian side of the scenic Singalila Ridge, the Darjeeling region's finest trekking area, along the India–Nepal border…
8.19 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…
5.53 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…
4.85 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…
12.4 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
23.02 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…
12.37 MILES
This unmissable feast of colour is a remarkable Hindu religious theme park crowning Solophuk hilltop, 5km southwest of Namchi. It brings together replicas…
0.57 MILES
Near the foot of the vast new Chenrezig Statue, this monastery complex is a contrastingly calm, meditative place with fabulous views, with seven stone…
0.75 MILES
Officially unveiled in November 2018, this huge, four-armed statue of Chenrezig (Avalokiteshvara) sits around 500m beyond the attractive little Sanghak…
1.32 MILES
One of Sikkim’s oldest and most significant Nyingmapa monasteries, Pemayangtse (literally ‘Perfect Sublime Lotus’) is 500m off the Geyzing road – turn…
1.56 MILES
A few partially rebuilt wall stubs are all that remain of the palace complex at Rabdentse, which was Sikkim's royal capital from 1670 until it was sacked…
3.95 MILES
The most dramatic of four waterfalls between Yuksom and Tashiding, the Phamrong's powerful flow fires itself through a high, green notch then crashes down…
4.17 MILES
The ridge between Ralang and Yuksom ends with an upturned promontory (1450m) on which sits the multibuilding complex of Tashiding Gompa, an important…
4.17 MILES
At the southern end of the Tashiding Gompa complex, this unusual compound contains a 2008 dharma bell, two giant Kashmir cypress trees and a series of…
4.22 MILES
If you're visiting Tashiding Gompa, a minor 'extra' sight is this tiny prayer cave, accessed via 250m of mossy stairs down to a small, tin-roofed hut…