Namchi & Samdruptse

Namchi is pleasantly situated at 1700 m above sea level, and is the administrative centre for South Sikkim. It lies 79 km southeast of Gangtok, and is rapidly becoming a magnet for domestic tourists due to the extraordinary statues that are around it.

Namchi is worth a visit for seeing the huge statue of Guru Padmasambhava (138 ft or 41 m high) that is located on Samdruptse Hill, about 8 km away from Namchi. Directly facing it is a 32 m high Lord Shiva Statue that is part of the temple complex known as Chaar Dham. It is rapidly developing into a tourist spot, as the weather is invigorating and it is a perfect place for spending an entire day for visiting tourists.
There are pretty flowers near the statues and also a lookalike building of Shirdi Sai Baba Temple which is painted in bright yellow and white. Namchi is a big town and has lots of accommodation options. The govt. also has recently inaugurated a cable car style ropeway to make it even more convenient for tourists to explore various places.

Another point of interest is Ngadak Gompa, some 5-6 km from Namchi, it is a ruined and neglected old dzong (dzong means monastery), which dates back to 1717.