Pelling Skywalk to Chenrezig Statue near Sanga Choeling

A couple of months ago, when I was first preparing to visit Sikkim, the pictures of Pelling Sky Walk (or Pelling Glass Walk) started showing up on my social media feed. I had seen similar pictures from China earlier and to be honest, I am not too keen about man-made structure in natural settings and look for more primitive and raw experiences. However, I also know that a lot of people will be interested in it. So, I made it a point to include this in the itinerary so that I can write this post.
Pelling Sky Walk and Chenrezig Statue
Jump to Specific Queries
Pelling Sky Walk and Chenrezig Statue
Sanga Choeling Monastery
Sikim Sky Walk Travel Guide
What exactly is Pelling Sky Walk?
How to reach Chenrezig Sky Walk?
Can you suggest a Cab Service?
Is there an entry fee?
What is the ticket price for Pelling Sky Walk?
Where to Stay in Sikkim?
What else to see nearby?
Pelling Sky Walk and Chenrezig Statue
So, we (with Abhinav & Jacomijn) had arrived at Pelling from Namchi the previous day. We had several targets for the whole day, starting with the Sky Walk, which was around 6-7 KMs away from Pelling town on the road towards Dentam. As we arrived, we initially saw a series of those white prayer flags that are omnipresent in Sikkim. In fact, there were two ways, one small hike as you can see in the pictures, and a spiral staircase, obviously a new construction, leading directly to the sky walk.
Starting Hike
Instinctively, we took the hike, and reached the base of the Chenrezing statue while the Sky Walk was also in front of us. At this point, we finally realized that the Sky Walk, alhough is more famous, is not the primary purpose of this project. It is just an additional attraction but the primary attraction here is the gigantic Chenrezig (Avalokitesvara) Statue. I think it just follows the ongoing trend of building collosal statues of Buddhist figures in the Tibetan Buddhsit areas in India. They can be seen everywhere from Ladakh, to Spiti, to Rewalsar, to Sikkim. I think it is their way of making a cultural statement, considering the situation in original areas of Tibet. This statue is 137 feet tall and you need to climb several stairs to reach it. You can also get better views of the Sky Walk if you climb up a few stairs. Apparently, it forms sort of a traingle with two other major statues nearby, those of Tathagata (Buddha) in Ravangla, and Padmasambhava in Samdruptse, near Namchi.
137 feet statue of Chenrezig (Avalokitesvara)