Rani Dhunga, originally known as Sita Paila ("footprints of Sita"), is a huge rocky outcrop considered to be holy, in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

6 km to the north-east of

Pelling Pelling (པད་གླིང་། ) is a hill station in ( རྒྱལ་ཤིང་རྫོང་།) Gyalshing district of Sikkim, India. Pelling is nestled at an altitude of . The town is located at a distance of 10 km from G ...

town,

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

, India, at an altitude of 2680m (8792 feet).

Surroundings

Rani Dhunga is accessed by walking the steep hilly track through the surrounding forest covering the area. Animals such as

musk deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all eight, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family (biology), family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, b ...

Himalayan tahr The Himalayan tahr (''Hemitragus jemlahicus'') is a large even-toed ungulate native to the Himalayas in southern Tibet, northern India, western Bhutan and Nepal. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, as the population is declini ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

Himalayan black bear The Himalayan black bear (''Ursus thibetanus laniger'') is a subspecies of the Asian black bear. It is distinguished from '' U. t. thibetanus'' by its longer, thicker fur and smaller, whiter chest mark. The species is considered an ecological ind ...

and

Himalayan blue sheep The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and in China in the provinces of G ...

all make their home in this forest. On the way to Rani Dhunga lies the

Sanga Choeling Monastery The Sanga Choeling Monastery, also spelt Sange Choeling Monastery ( Sikkimese: , Wylie: ''gsang sngags chos gling'', THL ''Sangngak Chö Ling''), established in the 17th century by Lama Lhatsün Chempo, is one of the oldest monasteries in Pelli ...

, established in the 17th century by

Lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

Lhatsün Chempo. One of the oldest monasteries in the north-east Indian

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Sikkim, it is known for "

Guhyamantra ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...

teachings", or "secret Mantra teachings", a synonym for

Vajrayana Buddhism ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emp ...

Etymology

According to folklore, the name "Rani Dhunga" means "queen's rock" ("rani" means "queen" and "dhunga" means "rock" or "stone".)

Legends

The legend or mythology relating to this huge rock is that

Devi Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is ...

(an expansion of Lord

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

) once stepped on the rock and her footprints can be seen embedded on it. Another folk legend is that a long time ago this place used to be a hiding cave for the Queen of Sikkim when the kingdom was attacked by Nepal or Bhutan.

Climate

The climate prevailing in the area is that of the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

. The maximum and minimum temperatures recorded are 24 °C (75 °F) and 0 °C (39 °F). Cold winds blow in the winter straight from the Himalayan ranges sometimes bringing snow with them and hail.

Gallery

References

{{coord, 27.291, 88.171, display=title Landforms of Sikkim Tourist attractions in Sikkim