plan was to visit the Buddha Park of
Ravangla, also known as Tathagata
Tsal. The Buddha Park is actually a
Rabong Gompa, commonly known
as a monastery. It features a 40-me-
tre-high statue of the Buddha as its
centerpiece.
The first glimpse of the centerpiece
left me speechless. I tried to capture
every angle and every possible impact
using my camera but to capture an
experience in a camera is not always
possible.
My next destination was Pelling,
a small hill town located not very
far from the district headquarters of
Geyzing. A perfect place to relax my
mind and muscles. It was 14 days
since I had left home, so a good re-
laxing break was welcome and well
earned.
The next morning had me pray-
ing at the Pemayangtse Gompa. This
monastery boasts of a museum which
has a lot of artefacts like wall paint-
ings and writings of Buddha, such is
the rich history of Sikkim. I played
tourist and visited the Glass Skywalk,
the first of its kind in India and a big
statue of Buddha which was inaugu-
rated a couple of weeks prior. Next,
I visited Samdruptse Hill, also known
as the Hill of Desires.
The colourful flags with Buddha
prayers along the entire stretch of
the road is a feast for the eyes and a
delightful challenge for the photog-
rapher to capture the effect it has on
you.
My last destination in Sikkim was
Char Dham. On the top of a hill
where there is a huge statue of Lord
Shiva, surrounding the statue are rep-
licas of the 12 Jyotirlingas. For those
who do not understand the concept of
Char Dham and Jyotirlingas, the ‘Char
Dham’ (four abodes) is a set of four pil-
grimage sites in India. It is believed
that visiting these sites at least once in
a lifetime helps achieve salvation. A
Jyotirlinga, is a devotional representa-
tion of Lord Shiva. There are 12 radi-
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ant signs based in 12 different shrines
across the country which form major
places of worship for the Hindus.
Experiencing a power packed week
of fun, relaxation, awe, tourism and
worship, it was time for me to leave
Sikkim. A quick stopover at Siliguri
was required to prepare for my jour-
ney of 2000 kilometres back home, to
New Delhi. A night stay was on the
cards to gear up my energy, do some
quick travel related shopping, get
some basic bike maintenance done,
replenish the food supplies and wrap
up my gear for the long journey home
... AK
Anurag is a photographer of nature and
wildlife. Based in India, Anurag loves to share
his country with fellow travels and takes them
on pre-arranged tours ... he loves nothing
more than getting on his bike and exploring.
Visit www.discoverwildworld.com to see more
of Anurag's work.