History
The modern history of Sikkim begins with 1642 A.D. which witnessed the consecration of the then King (Phuntsog Namgyal) as the Chogyal (Temporal and Religious King). The Namgyal Kings had been ruling over the Chumbi Valley and the Teesta Valley for at least three centuries prior to this. The Namgyals were scions of the Minyak House (Eastern Tibet) and were on pilgrimage in Central Tibet at the opening of the thirteenth century of the Christian era.
Geography
Sikkim is a small beautiful state of India in the Eastern Himalayas with steep mountains and deep valleys. It lies between latitudes 27° 5' N to 20° 9' N and longitudes 87° 59' E to 88° 56' E. It is wedged between Nepal in the west and Bhutan in the east and China in the north and northeast. In the south it shares its Indian border with the state of West Bengal.
Sikkim, is oblong in shape with a north to south length of approximately 100 km., and an east to west breadth of approximately 60 km. that gives it a total land mass of 7096 square kilometers. Close to three-quarters of its perimeter that covers most of the east and the west including the entire northern borderline has a contiguous mountain range surrounding the terrain within. The Chola Ridge bounds it in the East, the Singalila in the west, and the Great Himalayan Range runs right across the north. The southern fringe of Sikkim, devoid of a Himalayan barrier opens out to the Plains of Bengal and it is towards this direction that Sikkim’s two major river systems, the Teesta and Rangeet flow down to drain the land.
This gigantic horseshoe enclosure causes the trapping of moisture-laden winds from the Bay of Bengal and results in high precipitation round the year.
Another amazing aspect of this region is the enormous altitudinal range within its geography. From a lowly 300 m., it soars up to the lofty heights of the mighty Khangchendzonga at 8585 m. resulting in climatic zones from the tropical to the tundra.
Thus, the geophysical dynamics of this region has resulted in an enormous diversity of flora and fauna in so small a place as Sikkim.
Physical Features
Spanning Sikkim’s western borders are the Khangchendzonga and the Singalila Range, a north-south spur of the Great Himalaya. The northern limits which reach out to the Tibetan Plateau is straddled by the Donkia Range while the eastern flank is bounded by the Chola Range. The average steepness is about 45 degrees. Sikkim encompasses the Lesser Himalaya, Central Himalaya, and the Tethys Himalaya. Although the trend of Great Himalaya is to run across in an east-west direction, the two ridges demarcating Sikkim’s eastern and western sides, the Chola and the Singalila, follow a north-south pattern. Across the middle, another north-south ridge of lesser elevation separates the Rangeet Valley from the Teesta Valley.
The major mountain peaks of Sikkim are; Khangchendzonga-8,846 m, Jonsang-7,444 m, Talung-7,351 m, Kabru-7,338 m, Siniolchu-6,887 m, Pandim-6,691 m, Rathong-6,680 m Koktang-6,148 m, and Simvo-6,811 m.
Sikkim’s two major rivers are the Teesta and the Rangeet. The turbulent Teesta, which has its source at the Chho Lhamu lake in the Tibetan Plateau is an unseeming little stream at first but gradually swells into a raging river as more tributaries converge into it’s path as it snakes through deep mountain valleys into the plains of Bengal. The gentler Rangeet has its source at the Rathong Glacier south of the Khangchendzonga massif. It meets with the Teesta at the valley dividing Sikkim and Bengal.
There are numerous perennial lakes in Sikkim among which, Khechiperi, Gurudongmar, Chho Lhamu, Changu and Menmetsho are some of the more scenic.