State of India - Sikkim

Area: 7,096 sq km

Population: 4,06,457

Capital Of City: Gangtok

Languages: Lepcha, Bhutia, Nepali and Limbu

Crops:

How You Know: Till 1975, Sikkim was virtually an independent kingdom, ruled by the Chogyal.

History: Sikkim, the land of lofty mountains, is home to the world's third highest peak, the Kanchenjunga. The great peak is visible from almost any point in Sikkim. The State is a nature lover's dream being one of the richest places in bio-diversity with more than 4000 species of plants and an equally rich collection of birds and animals in a region just slightly bigger than Delhi. Forests with trees of fir, oak, sal, birch, maple etc. cover almost a third of Sikkim. In these forests you can find exotic and rare animals like Blue sheep, flying squirrels, Red Panda, the musk deer, and the snow leopard. The people of Sikkim are warm and cheerful. They are divided into three communities - the Bhutias, the Lepchas and The Nepalese, each with their own beliefs, dress and customs. India's most famous football player Bhaichung Bhutia is from Sikkim. Sikkim is a well-known Buddhist site. The Rumtek Monastery, 24 kilometers out of Gangtok the capital is a famous center for Buddhist studies. Its design is a replica of Kangyu headquarters in Tibet and the place where the leader of the sect the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, has lived since 1960. The Namgyal Research Institute of Tibetology on the way to the Rumtek Monastery has a collection of almost 30,000 books on subjects like astrology, philosophy, magic and religion. Its vast collection of Lepcha, Tibetan and Sanskrit manuscripts attracts scholars from around the world. Sikkim's mask dance is a famous dance form performed by lamas to celebrate religious festivals. Costumed lamas with gaily-painted masks and ceremonial swords leap and dance to the beating of drums, trumpeting of horns and the chanting of monks.