A big religious face-off

Once again Giles and I found ourselves lost for words today. Having agreed that the Yumthang Valley is probably one of the most spectacular places on Earth that either of us has ever visited, we were surprised to find yet more jaw-dropping sights in South Sikkim's Namchi.

Famed for the 2 huge religious statues, each standing at over 40 meters tall, the guidebook failed to prepare us for the view from each. Wow. The Kandchenjunga range remained crystal clear all day, providing a unique backdrop to some unique monuments.

Namchi sits on a ridge, and 5 km either side are 2 big peaks. Perched on the easternmost is a giant Buddhist guru, and on the western summit, a giant Siva. These are the biggest Buddhist and Hindu dedications in the world! Having found ourselves ensconced in a Buddhist household for the past 2 months we decided to embrace Hinduism for the afternoon.

A good hike got us to the top within an hour and there, standing before us, we found what can only be described as the result of when Hinduism met Disneyland!

We were as bemused as we were impressed, and spent a very happy hour wandering in and out of temples and shrines. But of course, awe-struck as ever, the mountains behind the towering greats were what really made the day. Beautiful.