In the 2000s the Government of Sikkim set out to mark the 2,550th anniversary of the birth of the Buddha, which Buddhists celebrated in 2006. It chose a slope above Ravangla, next to the old Rabong monastery, for a large statue and a pilgrim park, called Tathagata Tsal.
The work took several years. The statue, about 40 m (around 130 ft) tall, shows the Buddha seated, and the base contains a hall with paintings of his life. In March 2013 the 14th Dalai Lama came to Ravangla to consecrate it, a visit many local people still talk about.
The park was part of a wider plan by the state to build pilgrim sites around South Sikkim, along with the Samdruptse statue and Char Dham near Namchi. Opinions on them vary, but they have brought visitors and money to small towns that once saw few tourists.
For a quiet visit, go at opening time. Monks and families walk the circuit clockwise, the prayer wheels turn, and if the cloud lifts, Kangchenjunga stands behind the statue.
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Legends are retold differently from village to village. Where a story is told locally rather than written down, we say so.
