Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sikkm: India's Smallest State

Fog descends upon a hilltop village outside of Khecheopalri, in West Sikkim. Sikkim, located just below Tibet in the Himalayan mountain range, is India's smallest state.



As it becomes a popular destination for Indian tourists, Sikkim is seeing a boom in housing construction.

The roads of Sikkim are steep and dangerous. During the monsoon they are prone to erosion. 

Young monks practice traditional Tibetan horns at the last Bon monastery in Sikkim. Bon Buddhism predates the Tantric Buddhism that is widespread within Sikkim. 


A local healer visits a village home to help cure a pregnant woman suffering from diarrhea in West Sikkim. 

Pala (right) is 84 years old. He worked as a chef for the Dalai Lama for 40 years in Tibet and Dharemsala before moving back to his native Sikkim. 

Men dance at an engagement party in Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.