Tashiding Monastery — the holiest hilltop monastery in Sikkim
Tashiding Monastery in West Sikkim, called the state's holiest: founded in 1641, its hilltop between two rivers, the chorten field and the Bumchu festival.
Sikkim⛰ 2,150 m3 itineraries
Pelling
Pelling, West Sikkim: Pemayangtse Monastery, the Rabdentse ruins, the Chenrezig statue and skywalk, Khecheopalri and Tashiding, with measured road times.
Itineraries you can copy
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One day in Pelling — Pemayangtse, the Rabdentse ruins and the skywalk
Day plan · First visit · Temples & heritage
A one-day plan for Pelling, West Sikkim: Pemayangtse Monastery, the Rabdentse ruins of the old capital and the Chenrezig statue and skywalk, with road times.
Best Apr–May · Oct–Nov
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Tashiding and Yuksom from Pelling — a day on the old pilgrimage circuit
Day plan · culture · Temples & heritage
A day from Pelling to Tashiding Monastery, the Norbugang Chorten and Dubdi Monastery at Yuksom, Sikkim's first capital, with road times and the walk up.
Best Apr–May · Oct–Nov
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Two days in Pelling — the ridge, Sanga Choeling and Khecheopalri Lake
1 night · 2 days · culture · Temples & heritage
A two-day Pelling plan: Pemayangtse, the Rabdentse ruins and the skywalk on day one, then Khecheopalri Lake and Sanga Choeling Monastery, with road times.
Best Apr–May · Oct–Nov
See the plan →Going together
No one has started a group going to Pelling yet. Start one and other travellers can ask to come along.
Pelling is a hill station in West Sikkim, at about 2,150 m, about 10 km from the district town of Gyalshing by Wikipedia's figure. On a clear day Kanchenjunga stands over the town, and Pelling is also the base for the treks of West Sikkim.
Close to the town, within about ten minutes by road, are the Pemayangtse Monastery, one of the oldest and most famous in Sikkim, and the Rabdentse ruins of the second royal capital. The Chenrezig statue and skywalk opened in 2018, and the Sanga Choeling Monastery sits on the ridge above.
Further out are the Khecheopalri Lake, sacred to Buddhists and Hindus, about 55 minutes away on our routing, and the pilgrimage sites at Tashiding, Dubdi and Norbugang, more than an hour away.
The nearest working airport is Bagdogra, about 133 km and 213 minutes by road on our routing, and the nearest main station is New Jalpaiguri, about 125 km and 209 minutes away. From Delhi it is about 1,479 km by road, with 18 hours of free-flow driving, so most visitors fly or take a train to the Siliguri area first. Read how to reach Pelling and when to visit. Copy the one-day plan on the Pelling ridge, the two days with Khecheopalri or the Tashiding and Yuksom day.
Photos: Anjan Kumar Kundu (CC BY 4.0) · Amitabha Gupta (CC BY 4.0) · Ankur P from Pune, India (CC BY 2.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
Places worth the drive
Sanga Choeling Monastery, Pelling — a ridge-top gompa of 1697
Sanga Choeling Monastery above Pelling, one of the oldest in Sikkim, built in 1697: its Nyingma lineage, clay statues, the steep forest track and men-only rule.
Rabdentse Ruins, Pelling — the second capital of Sikkim's kings
The Rabdentse ruins near Pelling: Sikkim's second capital, 1670 to 1814, with its stone throne, chortens, palace walls and the short walk in from the gate.
Pemayangtse Monastery, Pelling — the old Nyingma seat on the ridge
Pemayangtse Monastery near Pelling, West Sikkim: the Nyingma seat founded in 1647, its painted three floors, the Cham festival and the nearby Rabdentse ruins.
Norbugang Chorten, Yuksom — where Sikkim's first king was crowned
Norbugang Chorten at Yuksom, West Sikkim: the stupa built after the first Chogyal was crowned in 1642, and the stone coronation throne under a cryptomeria pine.
Khecheopalri Lake — the wish-fulfilling lake north of Pelling
Khecheopalri Lake, sacred to Buddhists and Hindus in West Sikkim: its legends, the story of the leaves, the Demazong valley and how far it is from Pelling.
Dubdi Monastery, Yuksom — the first monastery of Sikkim, on a hill
Dubdi Monastery above Yuksom in West Sikkim, founded in 1701 and described as the first in Sikkim: the Hermit's Cell, the hill walk and how access works.
Chenrezig Statue and Skywalk, Pelling — a 42 m statue, a glass walkway
The 137-foot Chenrezig statue and glass skywalk above Pelling, West Sikkim: opened in 2018, the tallest Chenrezig statue by Wikipedia's account, and the road.
On the map
Open the Pelling map →The places a Pelling day reaches, with the road time from town. Each opens on the map with its plans and pages beside it.
Before you go
All articles →Things to do in Pelling — monasteries, a lost capital, a skywalk and a sacred lake
Things to do in Pelling, West Sikkim: Pemayangtse Monastery, the Rabdentse ruins, the Chenrezig statue and skywalk, Khecheopalri Lake, Tashiding and Yuksom.
How to reach Pelling — Bagdogra, New Jalpaiguri and the roads from Sikkim and Bengal
How to reach Pelling, West Sikkim: Bagdogra airport, New Jalpaiguri station, road times from Siliguri, Gangtok and Darjeeling, and the distance from Delhi.
Best time to visit Pelling — what we can say without a weather table
When to visit Pelling, West Sikkim: with no weather table for the town, we use nearby Darjeeling's normals to show how rain, snow and clear views vary.
Nearby destinations
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Questions people ask
How do you reach Pelling?
The nearest working airport is Bagdogra, about 133 km and 213 minutes by road on our routing, and the nearest main railway station is New Jalpaiguri, about 125 km and 209 minutes away. Wikipedia says Pelling is about 135 km from Siliguri and 115 or 131 km from Gangtok, and that jeeps connect it to Jorethang, Kalimpong and Namchi.
What are the best things to do in Pelling?
See the Pemayangtse Monastery and the Rabdentse ruins, walk to the Chenrezig statue and glass skywalk, and look for Kanchenjunga on a clear morning. The Sanga Choeling Monastery stands on the ridge above, and a day trip reaches Khecheopalri Lake, or Tashiding and Yuksom, the old pilgrimage and royal sites.
When is the best time to visit Pelling?
We have no weather table for Pelling itself. Wikipedia says snow now and then settles over the town in winter and that Kanchenjunga is seen from close by, but a view needs clear sky, so plan flexible days and go early. Our best-time guide uses the nearest station we have figures for, and says so.
Photographs by Wikimedia Commons contributors (CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA), resized; each picture is credited on its own page.