Landscapes of the Sikkim Himalayas

Tom has just returned from a fantastic university field trip ....I'll let him explain.....

With other 3000 photos, here are some unedited photographs of the physical landscape of Sikkim. 

Sikkim is an Indian state in the western Himalayas sandwiched in between Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and Bengal. It is positioned where the Himalayas are least in width and as a result there is tropical forest in the south, then quickly transitioning with height to sub-tropical forest, temperate forest, alpine and above the snow-line environments. 

Tropical forest in south Sikkim.

Gangtok, Sikkim's 'capital'. 

Mist rising over Gangtok in the morning.

Heavily terraced land in the sub-tropical Himalayan foothills. 

Bamboo groves at Fambong Lho.

High up in the cloud forest at Fambong Lho.

Waterfall over gneiss.

Tributary of the Teesta river.

The Teesta: pale clouded blue glacial melt-water.

Tea plantation at Temi.

Up above the tree-line: severe landslide.

Tsomgo lake: a high alpine lake at approx. 4000m near to the Tibetan border.

Rhododendron and dwarf rhododendron over the Tsomgo.

Military camps on the high border road.

Mount Khangchendzonga: the third highest peak in the world around 250m below Mt. Everest.