8th May was an important day in our adventure camp.

We were going to a ‘Rock Climbing’ Park outside Gangtok to learn how to climb rocks, rapple and zipline.

It was an early day for us. We were awake at the crack of dawn and left by 8:00 am. Upon reaching there, we were first asked to wear all the climbing gear. This was followed by a demonstration by the instructor.

Then we began. At first glance, it looked next to impossible, but as we continued to find footholds on the rock face, we soon made it to the top. At the end of the day, this was a physically demanding exercise but all of us enjoyed it thoroughly.

The next day, we visited the Do Drul Chorten Monastery and the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology. An interesting fact about Chorten Monastery is that it was made to counteract the evil and negative presence of hosts.

Namgyal Institute of Tibetology houses a lot of Buddhist statues, weaving and so on. Here, we got the chance to hear about Buddhism in detail as well.

10th May was indeed a sad day for all of us. We were to leave Sikkim that day. In the morning, we were taken to Rumtek Monastery, which belongs to the Kagyu sect of Buddhism. It houses the sacred crown of the Karmapa, the leader of the Kagyu sect. This monastery is unlike any other, because it is under the protection of the Indian Army.

By dusk that day, we reached NJP station and boarded the train at around 9:00 pm. We all knew that we were carrying back fond memories in our hearts that we would cherish forever.