Walkway at 10,200 ft

Gangtok, Sikkim: A walkway perched at an altitude of 10,200 ft.

Though the plans are at a rudimentary stage, the Bhaleydhunga cliff on Maenam Hill in South Sikkim will soon have a “floating” bridge that will offer steel-nerved visitors a 5,000-ft drop view of the valley below, including the meandering Teesta and the Rangit.

The chief minister of Sikkim, Pawan Chamling, said the bridge would be “closely similar to the one recently unveiled in Arizona”, a $40 million horse-shoe shaped steel pathway at 1,200m (3,937 ft) above the Colorado river valley. Sikkim is no Arizona, but visitors who cannot make it to the Grand Canyon have been promised a feel of dizzying heights.

The aerial pathway will not be the only new adventure spot for visitors to Sikkim. Plans are on to connect the Bhaleydhunga and the main land on the other side with a 3-km ropeway, the detailed project report of which will be prepared by RITES.

The skywalk, however, is at a more conceptual state.

For tourists, the adrenaline flow does not stop with the bridge. The state government has also planned to introduce bungee jumping at Shingshore Bridge in West Sikkim.

“This is part of our tourism schemes and I would like to request the Centre to support us so that the ambitious project can start early. Once installed, the skybridge, closely similar to the one recently unveiled in Arizona, is expected to draw more tourists, giving a fillip to the economy of the state,” Chamling had said at the North Eastern Council sectoral summit on tourism and hospitality held here last week.

N.K. Subba, the MLA of Hee Bermiok, where the Shingshore Bridge is located, said of the Rs 3 crore required for the bungee jumping project, the state government has already sanctioned Rs 30 lakh. The project will be taken up by sports and youth affairs department of the state government.

Subba said a team from Nepal had already carried out a feasibility study on Shingshore.

Source: The Telegraph