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Sikkim () is a landlocked Indian state located in the Himalayan mountains. The state is bordered by Nepal to the west, China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and east, and Bhutan to the east. The Indian state of West Bengal lies to the south. With 607,688 inhabitants as of the 2011 census,〔 Sikkim is the least populous state in India and the second-smallest state after Goa in total area, covering approximately . Sikkim is nonetheless geographically diverse due to its location in the Himalayas; the climate ranges from subtropical to high alpine, and Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak, is located on Sikkim's border with Nepal. Sikkim is a popular tourist destination, owing to its culture, scenery and biodiversity. It also has the only open land border between India and China.〔 Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok. Almost 25% of the state is covered by the Khangchendzonga National Park. According to legend, the Buddhist guru Padmasambhava visited Sikkim in the 8th century CE, introduced Buddhism and foretold the era of the Sikkimese monarchy. Sikkim's Namgyal dynasty was established in 1642. Over the next 150 years, the kingdom witnessed frequent raids and territorial losses to Nepalese invaders.〔 In the 19th century, it allied itself with British India, eventually becoming a British protectorate.〔 In 1975, a referendum abolished the Sikkimese monarchy, and the territory was merged with India. Sikkim has 11 official languages: Nepali (which is its lingua franca), Sikkimese, Lepcha, Tamang, Limbu, Newari, Rai, Gurung, Magar, Sunwar and English.〔Lepcha has been an official language since 1977, Limbu since 1981, Tamang since 1995 and Sunwar since 1996.〕 English is taught in schools and used in government documents. The predominant religions are Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism. Sikkim's economy is largely dependent on agriculture and tourism, and the state had the third-smallest GDP among Indian states, although it is also among the fastest-growing.〔〔(Indian Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation ). Retrieved 24 September 2011.〕 == Toponymy == The most widely accepted origin theory of the name ''Sikkim'' is that it is a combination of two Limbu words: ''su'', which means "new", and ''khyim'', which means "palace" or "house". The name is believed to be a reference to the palace built by the state's first ruler, Phuntsog Namgyal. The Tibetan name for Sikkim is ''Drenjong'' (Wylie-transliteration: ''´bras ljongs''), which means "valley of rice", while the Bhutias call it ''Beyul Demazong'', which means '"the hidden valley of rice".〔 The Lepcha people, the original inhabitants of Sikkim, called it ''Nye-mae-el'', meaning "paradise". In History, Sikkim is known as ''Indrakil'', the garden of the war god Indra. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sikkim」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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