Sikkim

Sikkim is known as "the Garden of Eden of India." It has scenic beauty, lush vegetation and a stretch of mountainous forests that few places in the world can rival. This botanist's paradise boasts several hundred different kinds of orchids. Kanchenjunga National Park is one of the highest altitude parks in the world and includes the world's third highest mountain.

Located in northeast India on the eastern edge of the Himalayas, Sikkim has an area of 2,739 square miles (slightly larger than the state of Delaware). It is bounded by Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and the Indian state of West Bengal. Though small, the state is strategically important and lies astride the shortest route from India to Tibet. Once a remote mountain kingdom, Sikkim became a state of India in 1975.

With only 540,000 inhabitants, Sikkim is the least populated state in India. The largest people groups are the Nepali (75%), the Bhutia (18%) and the Lepcha (9%). The latter are the original inhabitants of Sikkim. Nepali is the state language, and Lepcha, Bhutia, Hindi and Limbu are also spoken.

The state's economy is essentially agrarian. Most of the people are farmers who live in villages, while only 11 percent of the population lives in urban areas. Main religions include Hinduism (67%) and Buddhism (27%), followed by Christianity (5%) and Islam (0.9%). Buddhist influence in the state is strong.

Christianity has grown steadily despite persecution and the expulsion of Western missionaries several decades ago. Yet many towns and villages are without a Christian witness, and vast rural areas remain unreached with the Gospel. There are especially few believers among the Bhutia people.