Call: +91 7384718607
Call: +91 7384718607
Sikkim is a strikingly beautiful destination in Northeast India and is situated in close proximity to the Eastern Himalayas. Owing to its location, it experiences a cool climate most of the year with cold winters that bring in heavy snowfall in some parts. Then there are high-altitude glacial lakes, waterfalls, forests, caves, and unique Himalayan flora and fauna that form just a part of its magical offerings.
With the landscape being the foremost reason to visit Sikkim, we list 5 reasons why any photography aficionado needs to visit Sikkim.
(1) LANDSCAPE
When you move across Sikkim, especially from east, west, or south Sikkim to north Sikkim, you will see a dramatic shift in the landscape. While most of Sikkim is wrapped in verdant hills and valleys, North Sikkim is stark and rugged yet holds immense beauty of its own. There are some amazing lakes such as Gurudongmar Lake, a high-altitude lake in North Sikkim, that doesn’t freeze completely during frigid winters and provides great photographic shots.
Gurudongmar Lake, North Sikkim
(2) HIMALAYAN WILDLIFE
Sikkim’s wildlife sanctuaries are home to a large variety of animal species such as the Himalayan Black Bear, Red Panda, Blue Sheep, Red Fox, Snow Leopard, and Himalayan Tahr. If you’re not comfortable trekking inside a sanctuary or don’t have the luxury of time, the Himalayan Zoological Park in East Sikkim is an apt place to observe and click these exotic animals. There are also a wide variety of birds and butterflies that can be photographed.
Red Panda
(3) MONASTERIES
Sikkim has close to 75 monasteries, some of them dating back to the 18th century. Most of them house age-old holy books, murals, relics, and artefacts, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama has even inaugurated a few. The façade of any monastery provides a stunning backdrop, and minute details such as prayer flags, butter lamps, and chanting monks make for great pictures. And if you’re there during a festival, you’ve hit the jackpot!
Rumtek Monastery
(4) FOOD
From traditional food unique to the 3 major tribes of Sikkim (Bhutia, Lepcha, and Nepali) to special delicacies made only during important festivals, Sikkim’s food is an exciting exploration of colors, textures, and shapes. Brightly coloured vegetable toppings over noodles (thukpa), bite-size rolls of shiny flat yellow jelly noodles (laphing), and intricately shaped deep-fried pastry called khapsey are some interesting food to capture with your lens.
Laphing (Pic courtesy: foodie_darj)
(5) PEOPLE
The Sikkimese are some of the warmest and friendliest people you can ever find whether in the main cities or in far-flung hamlets but it’s courtesy to ask permission before you take their pictures. If you’re good at taking pictures without being noticed, then that’s fine too. Rosy-cheeked schoolchildren, old folk chanting with prayer beads in hand, herders, farmers working in the fields, people wearing traditional costumes, and tea plantation workers make for interesting subjects.
Kids going to school on a rainy day
A thing to remember if you’re photographing in Sikkim is that you will need permits to enter wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, some places in North Sikkim (Zero Point and Kala Pathar), and some parts of East Sikkim (Tsomgo Lake and Nathu La Pass) that are close to the Indo-China border.
Contact TourGenie for customised itineraries, permits, and photography tours.
