The Himalayas, or Himalaya, , is a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has many of Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest (Nepal/China). The Himalayas include over fifty mountains exceeding 7,200 m (23,600 ft) in elevation, including ten of the fourteen 8,000-metre peaks. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia is 6,961 m (22,838 ft) tall.
Sikkim is a state in northeastern India. It borders China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also located close to India's Siliguri Corridor near Bangladesh. Sikkim is the least populous and second smallest among the Indian states. A part of the Eastern Himalaya, Sikkim is notable for its biodiversity, including alpine and subtropical climates, as well as being a host to Kangchenjunga, the highest peak in India and third highest on Earth. Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok. Almost 35% of the state is covered by the Khangchendzonga National Park.
The blood pheasant is the only species in genus Ithaginis of the pheasant family. It is a relatively small, short-tailed pheasant that is widespread and is fairly common in eastern Himalayas, ranging across India, Nepal, Bhutan, China and northern Myanmar. Since the trend of the population appears to be slowly decreasing, the species has been evaluated as Least Concern by IUCN in 2009.
Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas in East Sikkim district. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The pass, at 4,310 m (14,140 ft) above mean sea level, forms a part of an offshoot of the ancient Tea Horse Road. Nathu means "listening ears" and La means "pass" in Tibetan. On the Indian side, the pass is 54 km (34 mi) east of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. Only citizens of India can visit the pass, and then only after obtaining a permit in Gangtok.
The Bhutia are a community of Sikkimese people of Tibetan ancestry, who speak Lhopo or Sikkimese, a Tibetan dialect fairly mutually intelligible with standard Tibetan. In 2001, the Bhutia numbered around 70,300. Bhutia here refers to Sikkimese of Tibetan ancestry; in contrast, the Bhotiya are a larger family of related Tibetan peoples in northeastern Nepal of which the Bhutia are one member group.
The history of Sikkim, an area in present-day North-East India, began in 1642 as a kingdom established when India and Nepal were still many princely states with many rulers at that time and had not unified to the present Union of India and present country of Nepal. At that time Sikkim had already solidified into country then with a king known as a Chogyal or dharma king, and till 16 May 1975 was an independent country ruled by the monarchs. Sikkim had twelve kings; Palden Thondup Namgyal was the last king of Independent Sikkim. There was contacts between ancient Hindus and Tibetans, followed by the establishment of a Buddhist kingdom or Chogyal in the 17th century. Sikkim emerged as a polity in its own right against a backdrop of incursions from Tibet and Bhutan, during which the kingdom enjoyed varying degrees of independence. In the early 18th century, the British Empire sought to establish trade routes with Tibet, leading Sikkim to fall under British suzerainty until independence in 1947. Initially, Sikkim remained an independent country, until it merged with India in 1975 after a decisive referendum. Many provisions of the Indian constitution had to be altered to accommodate the international treaties between Sikkim and India.
The Yumthang Valley or Sikkim Valley of Flowers sanctuary, is a nature sanctuary with river, hot springs, yaks and grazing pasture on rolling meadows surrounded by the Himalayan mountains in the North Sikkim district of Sikkim state in India. It is at an elevation of 3,564 metres (11,693 ft) above msl at a distance of 150 kilometres (93 mi) from the state capital Gangtok.
Rabdentse was the second capital of the former Kingdom of Sikkim from 1670 to 1814. The capital city was destroyed by the invading Gurkha army and only the ruins of the palace and the chortens are seen here now. However, the ruins of this city are seen close to Pelling and in West Sikkim district in the Northeastern Indian state of present-day Sikkim; Pemayangtse Monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Sikkim which is close to the ruins. From the vantage point of this former capital, superb views of the Khanchendzonga ranges can be witnessed. This monument has been declared as of national importance by the Archaeological Survey of India. It was first established in 1670 by Chadok Namgyal son of Phuntsog Namgyal by shifting from the first capital of Yuksom that was consecrated in 1642.
Lachung is a town and hill station in northeast Sikkim, India. It is located in the North Sikkim district near the border with Tibet. Lachung is at an elevation of about 9,600 feet (2,900 m) and at the confluence of the lachen and Lachung Rivers, both tributaries of the River Teesta. The word Lachung means "small pass". The town is approximately 125 kilometres (78 mi) from the capital Gangtok.
The Lachung River is a tributary of the Teesta River located in the East Indian state of Sikkim. It is a chief tributary of the Teesta, which is an important river in Sikkim along with Rangeet River. The village of Lachung is perched on the craggy bank of the river approximately 23 kilometres (14 mi) from Chungthang. It is at Chungthang where the Lachung and Lachen rivers converge and give rise to the Teesta. The river is 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) above sea level.
Mindrolling Monastery, is one of the six major monasteries of the Nyingma school in Tibet. It was founded by Rigzin Terdak Lingpa in 1676. Tendrak Lingpa's lineage is known as the Nyo lineage. The name in Tibetan means "Place of Perfect Emancipation". It is located in Zhanang County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, approximately 43 kilometers east of the Lhasa airport, on the south side of the Tsangpo river.
Chungthang is a town in North Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is situated at the confluence of the Lachen and Lachung rivers, which combine to form the Teesta River. Located at a distance of 95 kilometres (59 mi) from the state capital Gangtok, the Indian Army has a major forward base with a medical centre in Chungthang.
Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world and in India, located at an altitude of 5,154 m (16,900 ft), in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is considered sacred by Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. The lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava—also known as Guru Rinpoche—founder of Tibetan Buddhism, who visited in the 8th century.
Sovereignty over two relatively large and several smaller separated pieces of territory has been contested between China and India. Aksai Chin is located either in the Indian union territory of Ladakh or the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. It is a virtually uninhabited high-altitude wasteland crossed by the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway. The other disputed territory lies south of the McMahon Line. It was formerly referred to as the North East Frontier Agency, and is now called Arunachal Pradesh. The McMahon Line was part of the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet, without the agreement of China.
Diskit Monastery also known as Deskit Gompa or Diskit Gompa is the oldest and largest Buddhist monastery (gompa) in the Nubra Valley of Ladakh, northern India.
Greater Nepal is a nascent irredentist concept of Nepal extending beyond its present boundaries to include current Indian territories controlled by the Gurkha army after defeating some neighbouring kingdoms in wars fought from 1791 to 1804 but ceded to the East India Company under the Sugauli Treaty after the Gurkha king was defeated in the 1814–16 Anglo-Nepalese War. The concept of "Greater Nepal" does not include those parts of Tibet that the Gurkha army occupied very briefly after defeating Tibetans in wars fought from 1789 to 1791 but from where the Gurkha army was ejected by Chinese army which defeated the Gurkha king in 1792 Sino-Nepalese War. In 1813, this historical "Greater Nepal" extended from the Sutlej to the Teesta River, spanning 1,500 km. Rule over this expanse was brief, however, and in the aftermath of the 1814-1815 war with the East India Company the Gorkhali realm was whittled down considerably. The real time Gorkhali presence in Garhwal was for 12 years,Kumaon for 24 years,and Sikkim for 33 years. The Treaty of Sugauli, between the Gorkhali king and the Company, was ratified in 1816. It caused Nepal's rulers to lose about 105,000 km2 of territory and left Nepal as it is today, with 147,181 km2 of present total area.
Lhasa is a prefecture-level city, one of the main administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It covers an area of 29,274 square kilometres (11,303 sq mi) of rugged and sparsely populated terrain. Its capital and largest city is Lhasa, with around 300,000 residents, which mostly corresponds with the administrative Chengguan District, while its suburbs extend into Doilungdêqên District and Dagzê District. The consolidated prefecture-level city contains additional five, mostly rural, counties.
John Claude White was an engineer, photographer, author and civil servant in British India.
Doklam, Zhoglam, or Donglang, is an area with a plateau and a valley, lying between China's Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan's Ha Valley to the east and India's Sikkim state to the west. It has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961, but it is also claimed by China. To date, the dispute has not been resolved despite several rounds of border negotiations between Bhutan and China. The area is of strategic importance to all three countries.
