A rhododendron in bloom adorns a roadside in West Sikkim. Picture by Prabin Khaling

Gangtok, March 14: Sikkim is in bloom, literally.

Flowering rhododendrons of many hues have transformed the Himalayan state into a flowerpot. And the government has come forward with a festival to cash in on the trees’ tourism potential.

The Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation is preparing to organise a 29-day-long concluding ceremony of the International Rhododendron Festival in the West district from March 25 to April 22.

The celebrations will be spread across upcoming destinations in West Sikkim as the organisers are planning to turn the festival into a platform to market these areas before national and international tourists.

The opening ceremony of the festival had been held in Singba rhododendron sanctuary in North Sikkim from April 25 to May 15 last year. Barsey rhododendron sanctuary in the West district, another protected area of the plant, will host the concluding ceremony.

“We have planned several tourism-related activities in all eight constituencies in West Sikkim for the closing ceremony. Food festival, wildlife safari, helicopter joy ride, paragliding, trekking, mountain biking, archery and culture shows are among them,” said Narendra Kumar Subba, the chairman of the Sikkim Tourism Development Corporation.

“March-April is the best season to view different types of rhododendrons in full bloom in Basrey rhododendron sanctuary. There are seven to eight species of rhododendrons in the sanctuary and during the season, flowers cover the paths like red carpets,” said Subba, who is also the field organiser.

Sikkim is the treasure trove of the rhododendron with 36 species found in the state. This is 72 per cent of the total variety in India.

The organisers said the ceremony would kick off at Hilley, the gateway to the the Barsey sanctuary, with food festival, yak and horse rides. Hilley, 150km from Gangtok, will host the event from March 25 to 27.

According to the schedule prepared by the celebration committee, food and drinks festival will be held at Darap, wildlife safari from Phuncheybong to Hee-khola, helicopter joy ride at Dodok near Soreng, paragliding from Chakung-Chumbung to Jorethang, trekking and mountain biking at Barsey and trekking at several places in the West district.

The closing ceremony on April 22 will be organised at Uttarey, another entry point of the Barsey sanctuary.

“All tourism stakeholders in West Sikkim have come forward to make the festival a success. Each tourism development committee and local stakeholders have been given the responsibility to conduct activities in their respective areas. This is a wonderful opportunity given to the people of West Sikkim by the government for tourism promotion,” said Subba.

The field organiser said promotional activities were going on in full swing. “We have already prepared and distributed brochures and started networking with tour operators. The people have shown a great interest in the festival. We feel tourism in the district will receive a boost through the festival. The impact may not be felt immediately but after two-three years, tourist inflow to the district will improve.”

Subba added that hotels in Pelling and other parts in the West district had offered 30 per cent discount during the festival. “We have also asked the tour operators to include villages in the district in tourism packages.”