The Banjhakri Falls and Energy Park is a recreation centre and

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

near Gangtok, in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The park's statuary and other displays document the Ban Jhakri, or traditional

shamanic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...

healer who worships spirits living in caves around the falls. ''Ban'' means "forest", and '' jhākri'' means "healer". The park is in a thickly forested part of Swastik, next to an army camp, about from Gangtok on National Highway 31 to North Sikkim.

Layout

Banjhakri Falls is a natural

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

sourced from springs at higher elevation. The cascade is approximately high. of forestland were cleared and developed for the park. The theme park was conceived by

Chief Minister of Sikkim The chief minister of Sikkim is the head of the executive branch of the Government of Sikkim, the subnational authority of the Indian state of Sikkim. The chief minister acts as the head of government in the state, chairs the Council of Minist ...

Pawan Kumar Chamling Pawan Kumar Chamling (born 22 September 1949) is an Indian politician and the former Chief Minister of Sikkim. Chamling is the Founding President of the Sikkim Democratic Front, which governed the state for five successive terms since 1994. Ch ...

, who had visited the falls during his visit to the Ranka Monastery on 28 September 2004. He intended to revive interest in the traditional shamanic beliefs of the people. Citizens were invited to suggest themes for the park. The park was consequently developed into an attraction that celebrated the shamanic traditions of the people of Sikkim. Among the park's attractions are a man-made lake with a dragon in the centre; gazebos; statues of ''jhākri''; and statues of the ancestors of the Lyam Lymay, Mangpas, and Lepcha peoples of Sikkim. Sculptures of jhākri, Bongthing, Phedangba, and Bijuwa are housed in thatched enclosures. Paved paths and footbridges wind through the landscaped garden, which is decorated with ornamental trees and flowers, such as ''ardesia'', acer, poinsettia (''Euphorbia pulcherrima''), ''

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controv ...

'', ''

angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They gr ...

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hydrangea ''Hydrangea'', () commonly named the hortensia, is a genus of over 75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Korea, and Japan. Most are shrubs tall, ...

'', and ''tebuchinie''. Gazebos have been erected throughout the park. A museum hall curated by the Sikkim Rural Energy Development Agency (SREDA) has exhibits about renewable energy. The grounds also feature exhibits about topics in renewal energy, such as solar water heaters, solar-powered cars, energy drums, et al. The park is lit by solar-powered lamps.

References

{{Geography of India Waterfalls of Sikkim Parks in India Plunge waterfalls Protected areas of Sikkim Gangtok Protected areas with year of establishment missing