India, as everyone knows, is a religious country where people celebrate all kinds of religion. It’s only here, that one can find all the places or worship in abundance. It won’t be wrong to say that there’s a temple, church or mosque in almost every other part of this country and that’s one of the things that makes this country distinctive. Also, how often do we come across a place of worship which has the ability to blow away one’s mind. Siddheshvara dham located in the southern part of Sikkim and 5 km from the nearest town of Namchi is one such temple that can make you go ‘WOW’.
The main attraction in this temple complex is the 87 feet high statue of Lord Shiva who is seated on 108 feet high temple. The Government in order to promote rural tourism along with Eco & Religious tourism had started this initiative. Today, it attracts plenty of people who come here to worship the deity.
As soon as you head to this place, you’ll see this statue sitting tall on the Solophok hill from a distance. Not only that, the Govt has installed replicas of 12 jyotirlingas to make it easier for the Shiva devotees to worship all of them at one place. And if you think that’s all then well it’s not. This complex contains replicas of 4 main temples in India: Badrinath, Jagannath, Dwarka & Rameshwar. The reason why these temples are said to be main temples traces back to Hinduism. In Hinduism, it is believed that, in order to attain Moksha (ultimate goal of personal spiritual development) one needs to make a pilgrimage to all these 4 main temples listed above. Hence, Siddheshvara Dham gives you a quick tour to the replicas of all these places.
This entire pilgrim/worship center is spread across acres of land. There are car parking facilities along with some restaurants to make it convenient for the devotees. The entire area consists of: (1) Shiva Statue with 12 Jyotirlingas, (2) Four Dhams, (3) Sai Baba Temple and (4) Kirateshwar statue. Also, there are some other small temples located in and around the complex.
IMPORTANT INFO ON SIDDHESHVARA DHAM:
- No matter the direction from which you’re coming from, the only way to reach here is by roadways i.e by taxis or by buses. It lies on the Gangtok- Pelling highway & hence travelers end up taking a detour to this place while traveling to & fro.
- The entry to this place is free & photography is allowed.
- You will spend only 2-3 hours to visit the entire complex & hence this can be a quick detour.
- Visiting hours: 9.00 am – 7.00 pm.
- This place also has some other facilities like Information kiosks, VIP guest house, auditorium, prayer hall, dormitories, 96 bedded yatri niwas and viewing chattri etc.
- If you plan on staying over & explore more then check out the Hotels in Namchi.
- Other places to explore around: Shirdi Sai Mandir, Namchi & Ralang monastery, samdruptse & tendong hill, doling gopma and Maenam wildlife sanctuary.
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