__NOTOC__ The Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary or Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary occupies 104 km² in the Singalila Range in western

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

. It borders on

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

to the west, and on the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

to the south across the Rambong Khola stream. The

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 bloom during March and April.

Fauna

File:Tibetan Siskin Barsey Rhododendron Sanctuary 11.03.2013.jpg ,

Tibetan serin The Tibetan serin (''Spinus thibetanus'') or Tibetan siskin is a true finch species (family Fringillidae). Taxonomy and systematics The Tibetan serin was formerly placed in the genus '' Serinus'' but was assigned to the genus '' Spinus'' based o ...

File:Red Panda.JPG ,

Red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

File:Spotted laughingthrush.jpg,

Spotted Laughingthrush The spotted laughingthrush (''Ianthocincla ocellata'') is a bird species in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. The spotted la ...

Access

The Barsey Sanctuary can be reached from three points, Hilley, Dentam and

Soreng Soreng is a town and headquarters of the Soreng district, in the Indian state of Sikkim. Soreng is a newly formed District. Soreng is known for its largest production of vegetables, oranges and flowers. The inhabitants ...

. The most popular entry is Hilley since it is approachable by road and Varsey is only 4 km trek from this point along an undulating path shaded by different species of rhododendron.

Tourism

Sikkim government has an arrangement for tourists to stay on top of the hill in a forest barrack. There are now several home-stays at the entrance of Versay Rhododendron Sanctuary as well as at

Okhrey Okhrey is a small village situated in West Sikkim district, India. Okhrey is mostly inhabited by Sherpas. Okhrey comes under Daramdin BAC Block Administrative Center, and is approximately from the capital Gangtok Gangtok is a city, munici ...

, which is a small village inhabited by mainly the Sherpa community.

References

* *

External links

* * {{Commons category-inline, Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary Protected areas of Sikkim Wildlife sanctuaries in Sikkim Protected areas established in 2004 2004 establishments in Sikkim