Samdruptse

Samdruptse is a hilltop located 7 kilometer away from Namchi, South Sikkim. Where 135 feet tall statue of Guru Padmasambhava or "Guru Rimpoche in Bhutia" has been installed. In Bhutia vocabulary, Samdruptse means wish fulfilling hill. The hilltop offers a view of Namchi Town, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Mt. Kanchandzonga and eastern part of Nepal. This statue of Guru Padmasambhava is the double the size of the famous Bronze Buddha statue at Kamakura, Japan.

History

During 1996 on the auspicious occasion of Pang-Lhab-Sol, Dr. Chamling announced while addressing the devotees, that his government would construct and install a above 100 ft statue of Guru Rimpoche at Samdurptse. On 21 Oct 2007, his Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Sandruptse hill to lay the foundation stone of the project, his holiness then offered prayers to Guru Rimpoche and offered prayers for the prosperity of the state. Architects, engineers and hundreds of labors took three years to perfect this statue. The statue at Sandurptse was designed according to traditional Buddhist ideals and moulded as per the measurement and other details as explained in Thekcha created by the famous Vajrayana teacher Je Mephan Rimpoche. The entire project cost was around Rs.67,600,000 ($1,512,466), the statue alone cost Rs.45,500,000 ($1,018,006). On February 18, 2004, the Chief Minister inaugurated the tallest and the huge statue of Guru Rimpoche.