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

GANGTOK, August 05: The disappearance of a Lake at Uttarey in West Sikkim within a span of 15 minutes yesterday has left most of the villagers baffled. Located about a kilometre from the Uttarey Bazaar, the waters of Gompa Dara Lake suddenly disappeared along with the huge bursting noise at about 12 noon yesterday. That has also left a lot of people worried. According to the residents, who went to the lakeside immediately after the incident, the oblong shape lake had a huge crack in the middle of the bed. Villagers claim that all the waters of the Lake drained into that crack. “A boat in the lake also flowed into the crack,” one of the villagers told SIKKIM EXPRESS. Not being able to see where the water was draining, the anxious villagers believed that some natural calamities like flood or landslides may occur in two villages of Mukarung and Bandukey, which is located just below the lake. Experts have opined that the incident seemed to have been a part of global warming and...

Lake Khecheopalri (27Ţ22′ 24” N and 88Ţ12′ 30” E) is situated 147 kilometres west of Gangtok, the state capital of the Sikkim Himalaya, in the West District at an altitude of 1700 meters amsl (above mean sea level). The lake represents the original névé (that is, compact granular snow that eventually forms a glacier) region of an ancient hanging glacier, and the depression is formed by the scooping action of the glacier. A moraine ridge forms the southern bank of the Lethang Valley (RAINA 1966). The lake has been estimated to be more than 3500 years old. Khecheopalri Lake is surrounded by the forested Ramam watershed (named after Ramam Mountain) and covers an area of 12 square kilometres. It falls on the southern boundary of the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (Buffer Zone IV), limiting the reserved forest boundaries of Khecheopalri Village. It has an open water surface area of 3.79 hectares with a mean water depth of 7.2 meters. The lake is well drained from the watershed with in...

via Sikkim Express HEE BERMOIK, May 11: Torrential rain – clumsy weather, yet spirits high at celebration premises. So came the second day of Kalez Valley Heritage Festival 2007 here at Hee Kyang Bari marking the inauguration of the impressive Chaya Tal Lake. As against Chief Minister Pawan Chamling’s failure to attend the second day of the fest because of ill health, the Chaya Tal Lake was formally inaugurated today by the chief guest SB Subedi, Minister for Forest accompanied by area MLA NK Subba. Chaya Tal is reportedly the second artificial lake in Sikkim after Lampokhari at Aritar attracting mammoth numbers of tourists lately. “We are heading towards a sustainable tourism development, simultaneously solving the problem of unemployment. The boats in the lake will add an extra boost to our vision” said NK Subba speaking to Sikkim Express today. Meanwhile, the chief guest SB Subedi voiced Hee-Bermiok as a perfect place for village tourism with other value-added tourism activities. “N...