Kingdom of Monasteries
Buddhism in the Eastern Himalayas
Sikkim, India's least populous state, holds an outsized concentration of significant Tibetan Buddhist monasteries — Rumtek, rebuilt in the 1960s as the seat-in-exile of the Karma Kagyu lineage, and Pemayangtse, one of the oldest and most senior Nyingma monasteries, together preserve traditions and artefacts carried directly from Tibet during the Karmapa's historic escape.
Gurudongmar Lake, one of the highest lakes in the world at 5,430 metres, holds rare significance across Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh tradition simultaneously — a genuinely shared sacred site associated with Guru Padmasambhava and, in Sikh tradition, with Guru Nanak's own legendary Himalayan travels.
6Major pilgrimage sites
4+Major monasteries
5,430mGurudongmar Lake altitude
