Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa awaits Presidential inauguration



GANGTOK, April 12: A unique tourism attraction fusing cultural ethos of Sikkim with modern amusement amenities is set to be added to the growing tourism itinerary of the State on April 15 when President Pratibha Patil will be inaugurating the mega tourism project, Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa cum socio-cultural amusement park at Ranka, East Sikkim.

Locals from the Ranka circuit which also hosts the famous Lingdum monastery and Banjakhri Falls is will be vastly benefiting from the new mega tourism point expected to fetch a rich haul of tourists presently flooding Gangtok.

The concept behind the Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa park is to providing wholesome entertainment to tourists with a blend of depiction of rich cultural heritage and modern amusement amenities, said State Rural Management & Development secretary Anil Ganeriwala.

Built at estimated cost of around Rs. 50 crores, the park is spread over an area of 17 acres boasting a variety of cultural tourism attractions including the dome shaped Sikkim Panaroma along with bowling alleys, swimming pools and other modern amusement amenities like laser shows and colourful musical fountains.

“The project was conceived by the Chief Minister in 2005 and works started from June 2006”, said Ganeriwala adding that project was first of its kind in Sikkim.
Billed as the major cultural tourism attraction in the park, the dome shaped Sikkim Panorama houses relief features of important places of Sikkim starting from low lying areas to Mt Khangchendzonga. The relief features are made from fiber glass.

There are also murals of the ethnic communities of Sikkim in the Sikkim Panorama along with traditional huts.

The park also has a rain forest café, a unique food joint with glass floors over a natural stream with lots of greenery.

The park will be a new feature in the tourism attractions in and around Gangtok and we hope to extend the visit of tourists by one more day with this new attraction, said Ganeriwala.

Around Rs. 30 crores is expected to be pumped into local economy with this new tourism attraction as tourists will be encouraged to extend their visit to Sikkim by one more day benefiting a host of tourism service providers.

With limited recreational avenues in Gangtok, local residents here also stand to benefit to enjoy their spare time with their families at the Khangchendzonga Tourist Villa park.

source;sikkimexpress