Singling (height: 6850 ft.) is a community in Sikkim, India. It has been on the trade routes between India and Bhutan since ancient times. A popular tourist activity is to trek between Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary and Singling. There is an ancient monastery, a lake and amazing mountains. It is known for

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

Location

It is located 63 km to the south of the district headquarters in

Geyzing Gyalshing or Geyzing is a city, located in Gyalshing district or Geyzing district in the Indian state of Sikkim. It is administrative headquarter of district. The town is connected to the capital Gangtok by a metalled road. Geyzing is also con ...

and 3 km from Soreng.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census: there are 518 houses, a population of 2,376 (male: 1,200, female: 1,176), children (0-6) 340 (male: 118, female: 122), there are 94 people who are members of Schedule Castes (male: 49, female: 45), 1,557 people who are members of

Schedule Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

(male: 787, female: 770), and the total literacy rate is 77.3% (male: 80.9%, female: 73.6%). The languages spoken are

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

, Rai, Tamang and Newari.

Economy

The main sources of livelihood of the locals are cultivation of organic foods and vegetables. Almost every family is independent. In the step cultivation fields on hilly terrain, peas, cabbages, broccoli, onions, squash, mustard leaf (''Brassica juncea'') and lemons are cultivated. In this village the locals do not use any type of pesticides or artificial chemicals. There are piggeries and poultry farms in almost every house. Almost every house is decorated with orchids, primulas,

geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in ...

, along with white and red

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s, locally known as ''guraus''. Homestay is another source of their earnings.

Transportation

The nearest railway station is

New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station (station code NJP) established in 1960, is an A1 category broad gauge and narrow-gauge railway station under Katihar railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is the largest as well as the ...

. From Siliguri S.N.T. bus stand, share cars and buses are available to Soreng. From Jorethang, cars are available to Soreng. From Soreng; Singling is about 3 km away. For this last 3 km road, the only option is to reserve a car to reach Singling.

Avi fauna

Singling is a

bird watcher Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

's paradise. Numerous varieties of birds can be seen including:

grey treepie The grey treepie (''Dendrocitta formosae''), also known as the Himalayan treepie, is an Asian treepie, a medium-sized and long-tailed member of the Corvidae, crow family (biology), family. The species was Species description, first described by R ...

green-tailed sunbird The green-tailed sunbird (''Aethopyga nipalensis'') or Nepal yellow-backed sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Nepal the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, stretching eastwards into parts of Southea ...

white-browed fulvetta The white-browed fulvetta (''Fulvetta vinipectus'') is a bird species in the family Paradoxornithidae. Like the other typical fulvettas, it was long included in the Timaliidae genus '' Alcippe'' or in the Sylviidae. Ranging across the Indian s ...

fire-breasted flowerpecker The fire-breasted flowerpecker (''Dicaeum ignipectus'') is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Like other flowerpeckers, this tiny bird feeds on fruits and plays an important role in the ...

Himalayan bulbul The Himalayan bulbul (''Pycnonotus leucogenys''), or white-cheeked bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family found in Central and South Asia. Taxonomy and systematics The Himalayan bulbul is considered to belong to a superspecies ...

red-billed leiothrix The red-billed leiothrix (''Leiothrix lutea'') is a member of the family Leiothrichidae, native to southern China and the Himalayas. Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are dull olive green, and the ...

great barbet The great barbet (''Psilopogon virens'') is an Asian barbet native to the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia, where it inhabits foremost forests up to altitude. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004 because of ...

greater flameback The greater flameback (''Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus'') also known as greater goldenback, large golden-backed woodpecker is a woodpecker species. It occurs widely in the northern Indian subcontinent, eastwards to southern China, the Malay Peni ...

and many species of sunbird. There is a short trekking route through the jungle trail within the forest, which leads to an open space; there one can see birds like the

rufous sibia The rufous sibia (''Heterophasia capistrata'') is a rare species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It feeds on berries and insects. It is found in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, ranging across India, Nepal and Bhutan. Its nat ...

grey bush chat The grey bush chat (''Saxicola ferreus'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan, Nepal and mainland Southeast Asia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist ...

, a few species of

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...

, nuthatch, white-capped water redstart, scarlet minivet and crested serpent eagle.

Flora

There are flowers of magnolias, blue poppies, primulas,

s, gladioli,

azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...

s, camellias, gentians, orchids and

s. Among trees, there are figs,

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

sal Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to: Personal name * Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname Places * Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality * Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Ca ...

, ferns, a variety of bamboo, oak,

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

cypresses Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the la ...

, birch and silver fir.

Tourism

Singling is situated in a vital spot to do number of treks in Sikkim, as Hiley-Barsey trek,http://sikkimtourism.gov.in/Webforms/General/Destination/Varsey.aspx?LocName = Varsey Dzongri-

Goecha La Goecha La (el. 4940 mt or 16,207 ft) is a high mountain pass in Gyalshing district, Sikkim, India in the Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent fr ...

trek and so on. Likewise nearby there are a monastery, lake and a Sherpa town. Peling, Ringchenpong and Kaluk are nearby.

Jorethang Jorethang is a major town in Namchi district in the Indian state of Sikkim. Jorethang lies on the bank of Rangeet River, which is a tributary of the Teesta River, on the way to Pelling from Darjeeling, Siliguri and Kalimpong. Demographics As ...

is the closest town, about 24 km away. At Singling numerous adventurous sports are organised like river rafting, hiking and paragliding.

References

{{Reflist Cities and towns in Gyalshing district Sikkim