Author: Arundhati Ray
Sujoy Das/
Photographer: Sujoy Das
Publisher: Permanent Black
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 160
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8178240084
Description
On the eastern border of India, sandwiched between Bhutan and Nepal and on the route to Tibet, lies one of the last wonderlands of myth and legend. This is the world over which towers Kangchendzonga – probably the most spectacular of Himalayan peaks. Tropical orchids and alpine snow leopards inhabit this region. The hum of Buddhist prayer wheels, tribal gongs, Hindu chants and church bells harmonize to produce wonderfully hybrid culture.
Sikkim has always lured travelers – whether trekkers, pilgrims, botanists, or just people who want a serene break from routine. But access to this hill state was restricted for many years. Only in recent times have all tourists, including foreigners, been given permission to visit.
Photographer Sujoy Das, who fell early under the spell of Sikkim has been documenting the land over the last decades and provides rare pictures of its people, mountains and barren plateaus. Arundhati Ray covers all that a visitor needs to know in order to travel here. In a wonderfully story-telling style, peppered with anecdotes and folk tales, she provides the essential information. Together with Das’s evocative and perceptive essays about his many journeys in Sikkim, these make this book more than just a guide: It offers a complete travel experience.