Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

By Dalvinder Singh (Grewal) A group consisting of Sardar Harbhajan Singh (Setia) and fourteen other Sikh devotees from Delhi returned last March after a visit to Gurdwara Guru Dongmar in North Sikkim. Guru Dongmar is a lake at a height of 18,000 feet alongside a glacial peak known by the same name. The lake remains frozen most of the year due to heavy snowfall for almost six months each year. Guru Nanak visited the place during his third udasi in order to solace the Karma-pa Nying-ma-pa sects then being hounded out from Tibet by the Ge-lug-pa sect. Many from the Karma-pa Nying-ma-pa sect were the followers of Guru Nanak, as their Head Lamas became Guru Nanak's followers in Kailash Mansarovar area after being impressed by Guru Nanak's discussions with the famous Sidhas of the age. These sects had fled from Tibet to the Himalayan belt of Northern India, which included Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttra-Khand, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Prades...

At 17,800ft above sea level, dizziness and sudden blackouts due to lack of oxygen are not uncommon. The reward for all the hardship, however, is an extraordinary view of the tranquil, blue waters of Guru-Dongmar (North Sikkim) stretched out against the backdrop of snow-capped peaks that guard over the lake from three sides. The fourth side is completely barren and gusts of wind from that direction buffet the lake in the afternoons. Welcome to the highest tourist destination in the eastern Himalayas located on the India-China border, 187 km north of Gangtok. Foreigners are still not allowed to visit this restricted area, but with the Union government issuing permits to domestic tourists, thousands of them are now visiting the holy lake every season. “Earlier, we had to get special permission and since these permits were not guaranteed, we could not market Guru-Dongmar. However, the Sikkim government has worked hard to promote tourism and nowadays we can get permits f...