Mangalbarey: Where Faith Finds Form

MANGALBAREY'S TERRACED FIELDS AND SACRED SITES REFLECT A VILLAGE WHERE DAILY LIFE AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE MERGE SEAMLESSLY

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The path to Rahuney Bhauda winds through a forest of ferns and prayer flags.

Inside a shallow cave, the air is cool and heavy with the scent of butter-lamp smoke. A young monk seated by the entrance told me, “Locals come here often. However, they don’t pray for anything big. Just peace, for their homes, their land.” He pointed towards the rock wall darkened by centuries of soot. The site, believed to date back to the 8th century, remains one of Sikkim’s oldest meditation caves, visited by pilgrims who leave coins, khadas, and simple prayers on stone ledges.