How much steep walking is needed to reach Permayangste & Tashiding monasteries?

SilverMaple

How much steep walking / climbing is unavoidable to reach Permayangste and Tashiding monasteries? On the map the distances look tiny but some guidebook information about journey times makes it sound like motor transport doesn’t reach them and that long, tough uphill climbs may be unavoidable– Tashiding especially.

Can anyone who’s actually visited either of them describe how much walking and climbing has to be done?

tacita

hi silvermaple--welcome to indiamike.

it doesn't take long to reach either one. pemayangste was only a few minutes. the walk to tashiding is much longer and steeper, but not arduous if you're in relatively good shape...perhaps an hour? take plenty of water for the latter, because you'll sweat a lot. you can get some near the parking area, where there's a restaurant or two (albeit very simple--see photo). be sure to seek out the mani-stone carver (see below) at tashiding, on the far side, behind the stupas. (also below--the gold one is for the current dalai lama). he's a master craftsman and interesting to watch at work. i wish i'd spent more time with him. also below is a picture of local women at the monastery in anticipation of the bumchu festival.

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singsub

er...where exactly is this Tashiding monastery?? near Pelling ??

tacita

yes, it's close to pelling. a map in-hand would obviously serve you better, but you can see it's proximity (close) here.

SilverMaple

Thanks, Janice, for the very helpful info about reaching these two monasteries. Could you say something about how the two compare as places to visit, what was your experience of each? I'm thinking that we may need to choose between them, timewise. I'm tempted towards Pemayangtse after reading about the large model of the Buddhist cosmos there.

I'd also be grateful for any comments about any other monasteries which you found particularly worth visiting in Sikkim and around Darjeeling, since there are so many to choose from, and your reasons for liking them.

patrickday

janice you appear very helpfull .. i am going to sikkim .delhi at present.. what would you suggest ...i have no real time limit, after spending a year in nepal i fancy a couple of weeks in sikkim

tacita

patrick, let me know how i can help or what type of suggestions you are looking for.

tacita

i really urge you to visit both if you possibly can. the seven-tiered, intricately carved wooden sculpture depicting santopalri (or zangdog palri) is exquisite. you'll stand before it transfixed. equally magnificent, however, are the paintings, chorten and carved-and-painted mani stones at tashiding. both were "must-sees" for me.

as for other monasteries, i highly recommend the little-known (and also "little") "bon" monastery, identified in some guidebooks as the "lingbon" monastery. it's in kewzing, 5km from ravangla. the only one of it's kind in sikkim, the bon monastery is an intimate and personally accessible little jewel, yet no one seems to visit it! two novices showed me around and even took me to see their library, with hundreds of buddhist texts in their colorful boxes, their living quarters, and, of course, the main sangha building. it was a highlight of my visit.

i recommend the book "sikkim: a traveller's guide", with photographs and essays by sujoy das and text by arundhati ray. it's available online, ISBN 81-7824-008-4. i also suggest you get a sikkim road map, as the book maps make it hard to really see what's where. you can get one for about US$10 through amazon, e.g., the "sikkim region of india map by ITMB", by international travel maps. a google search should get you to it.

(i tried without success to upload some photos, but there seem to be gremlins afoot!)

patrickday

thanking you ,, arrived in darjeeling today nice and relaxed after delhi... i love peace quiet, the mountains and trekking alone (meaning without a guide) and buddists, thanks again..

SilverMaple

That is really very helpful to hear. I’ve been very keen to see the model of zangdog palri at Pemayangtse & have been trying to gain an understanding of it (there’s another in a Kalimpong monastery I think). We’ll aim to go to both Pemayangtse & Tashiding. Our journey starts on Tuesday.

1) From where were you based when you visited these 3 monasteries? How did you travel to each one?

2) How did you get access to the Bon monastery at Kewzing? I’d read somewhere about it and been surprised that the Bon religion was so organised. But I’d wrongly assumed that it wouldn’t be open to travellers. I’d love to visit. Did you just knock on the door? How did you manage language wise?

3) When did you undertake these travels in Sikkim?

Thanks for the tip about that book & map – I already have both. Thanks for all the v. useful info. You must be one of very few travellers to have reached the Kewzing Bon monastery.

tacita

i flew into bagdogra and took a taxi to gantok, where i spent a few days seeing local sights and chaams at the rumtek monastery. there, by pre-arrangement with potala treks and tours, i hired a private jeep to take me to western sikkim, first to yuksom and then to pelling and, finally, to darjeeling, where my driver left me to return to gangtok. i'd sat down with the agency's owner and my driver when i arrived in gangtok with a list of my must-sees. they were able to determine the best order for seeing everything. i spent one night in yuksom and two in pelling, so i covered everything i wanted to see between gangtok and darjeeling in five days.
i got out of the jeep and walked in! i was greeted by two novices, about 12 years old, i'd guess. it's a very small compound. i asked if i could see the sangha building and they led me in, waited patiently while i took my time looking at and taking pictures of the altar, drums, statues, books, paintings, and thangkas. i asked permission, of course, and was surprised when they said yes. i can't recall how we communicated. i often relied on my driver (although many people know at least some english), but he didn't accompany me into the bon grounds, so either they knew some english, or we gestured, or some combination of the two. in an event, it wasn't difficult--however we did it, we did it.
february 2007. i planned my entire visit around the tibetan new year because i wanted to see the chaam dances at rumtek monastery. it was cold, especially at night, but i had many warm days and spectacular mountain views most of the time.

"girlone" recently posted some inquiries about sikkim to which i replied. you may want to search those out for more information about the details of and costs for my itinerary.

i'm thrilled for you on your upcoming trip--you're going to have a wonderful time, and i can't wait to read about it when you return. for how long will you be there?

Ambasagou

The book "Sikkim: A Travellers Guide" seems quite hard to find here in the U.S. It's costing almost $60 on Amazon. I found that Pilgrim Books, which has a location in Varansi near Monkey Ghat, sells it on their website, but as I'm visiting Varansi before arriving in Sikkim I may just buy it there.

I am planning to spend my first 3 days in Sikkim (in early Nov) at the Yangsum Farm Homestay in Rinchenpong, not far from Pemayangste and the other monestaries.

My question to Janice is if she has been to Yangsum farm or the surrounding area near Rinchenpong and if there are any specific recommendation of things to do. We may only have 3 days there before moving on. Also, it seems like I remember hearing about a homestay situation in Kewzing. Do you know any details about how to arrange this?

Another question would be what kind of clothes to pack for Sikkim in early November.

tacita

wow, i'm shocked! i know i didn't pay anywhere near that much. i guess the book has become scarce as interest in sikkim is growing. i saw the book in a bookstore in darjeeling, so you may well find it in varanasi.

i had made reservations to stay there, only to later decide i wanted to approach my trip differently and fixed on a driving circuit of west sikkim. in yuksom, do visit the dubdi monastery--great mountain views, and a good workout climbing the hill to it-- and coronation throne, adjacent to which there is a buddhist school and enormous prayer wheel with a rich, resonant bell. the area around the coronation throne is festooned with hundreds of prayer flags. (i'd be curious to know whether the school ever received the photos i sent--if you do visit, woukd you inquire?).

i visited tashiding monastery after leaving my hotel in yuksom, and then went on to khechepalri lake (spellings differ). my driver stopped to show me a sight that wasn't on my list. it was a large, sacred boulder, near a stream, as i recall, a short hike down from the road. the boulder, however, was hollow (!), and sounded, when rapped on, like metal. really interesting. i have no idea what it was called or even exactly where it was. perhaps your hosts can tell you.

SilverMaple

Janice, many thanks for so much helpful information. I've also printed out your reply to GirlOne, which is very useful re practical matters & costs.

We leave Britain this week & start with 5 or 6 days in Bodhgaya, then on to Darjeeling & Sikkim, then back to UK from Kolkatta after 3 weeks in India in total.

tacita

you're so very welcome, silvermaple. i truly welcome the opportunity to "pass it on" here on IM, i.e., to help another member with their plans, just as i received so much indispensable help before my own trip to sikkim and west bengal.

with what looks like roughly two full weeks in DJ and sikkim, you have time to cover at least as much as i did.

incidentally, i attended a talk yesterday on bon. i wish i'd had the benefit of some knowledge of bon before my trip. to the untrained eye, namely, mine when i was in sikkim, the art is indistinguishable. i learned yesterday about some of the subtle differences in iconography and motifs. for example, one tidbit is that while both incorporate the swastika (as does hinduism), the feet point in different directions. if you have time, it might be interesting to learn a bit more and then look for those differences at the bon monastery.

i'm not sure whether i mentioned it elsewhere, but there is a small guesthouse (two rooms, i believe) at sangha choeling in pelling. i met a couple who were staying there, studying informally with the teacher at the adjacent school and about t undertake a silent meditation. if it interests you -- even for a night or two while in pelling -- they recommended it. very simple but comfortable enough accommodations.

throughout my trip, i took photographs and promised copies to many of the people i met, including the two boys who so warmly welcomed me at the bon monastery and showed me around. if you do visit and can inquire, i'd love to know whether they received them. i had no specific address information, so cobbled something together from clues i gathered online in the postal district of kewzing.

i'm thrilled for you that you're making this trip. sikkim is still largely "off the beaten path", but sees more visitors each year and won't remain unspoiled by western tourism for very long.

my best wishes for a wonderful journey.