“Small but beautiful” is how Sikkim’s Tourist Bureau describes this Buddhist kingdom, the 22nd state of India. Nestled in the inner range of the eastern Himalayas, the country is so mountainous that only twenty percent of the land is habitable. Most Sikkimese live in the shadow of Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, and revered by the Sikkimese as their protective deity. In Sikkim you will experience the grandeur of magnificent mountains, lush valleys, swiftly running rivers, and a peaceful people.

The original inhabitants of this rugged land were the Lepchas or Rong-pa, the ravine folk from Assam, who now live in harmony with the Khampas from Tibet and Nepalese from neighboring Nepal. Sikkim, a prosperous and a wonderfully diverse state, has much to offer both in terms of beauty and spirituality. Like the few mountain kingdoms on the planet, Sikkim was virtually cut off from the world for centuries, and remained isolated for some time even after it was absorbed into India. The official government census of only ten years ago reported that among the 400,000 inhabitants there were more yaks than telephones. Without a doubt this is changing, and one cannot stress enough the advantage of seeing now, what may be a vanishing culture. Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Gangtok are our jumping-off points for our tours to Sikkim.