Swarna Jayanti Maitreya Manjari Orchidarium (Ridge Park)

The orchidarium belongs to Swarna Jayanti Maitreya Manjari, a complex at Ridge Park in Gangtok conceived as part of the commemorations of fifty years of Sikkim's statehood. A bulletin of the state's Information and Public Relations Department describes the whole as a 26-foot copper-structured monument that serves as a cultural plaza and symbolises five decades of integration and growth. The orchidarium was developed under the Urban Development Department of the Government of Sikkim, with technical consultancy from the ICAR-National Research Centre for Orchids, an institute based in the state.

The Prime Minister of India inaugurated it virtually on 29 May 2025, at the launch of the year-long celebrations. It opened to the public on 17 September 2025, when the Governor and the Chief Minister launched the Sewa Pakhwada campaign. The Prime Minister toured it in person during the closing ceremony of the jubilee year, according to a bulletin of 29 April 2026, and the President of India visited on 26 May 2026.

The state's official bulletin presents the orchidarium as the defining feature of the complex: a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled 'Cool House' spread over two levels. The Gangtok Municipal Corporation, which lists the site among the city's parks, places the Utsav Plaza above the orchidarium and calls it a glass-housed facility; a commentary published in the Sikkim Express in June 2026 also mentions an expansive glass facade that lets daylight in, and a travel operator speaks of glasshouses linked by landscaped pathways. An Architect and Interiors India article (3 October 2025) on the project by the firm Salient (Kolkata) writes that the façade features "laminated triple glazing within a lattice steel envelope" and that areas demanding full daylight were enclosed within a "high-performance glass envelope"; large glazed panels facing west frame views of the mountain range.

The interior combines live plants with exhibition spaces. The municipal corporation mentions immersive exhibitions, interactive spaces and an 'Orchid Wonderland'; the Sikkim Express adds displays on the evolution of orchids, their ecological importance and their scientific and cultural significance. Photographs by the Prime Minister's Office taken during the April 2026 visit show both orchid plantings set against stone walls and an exhibition hall with mirrored walls. Entry is by a QR-code ticketing system, according to the government's press release.

The complex stands on Ridge Road beside the White Memorial Hall, on a flat stretch of the Ridge that, according to the municipal corporation, offers panoramic views of Gangtok.

According to the state's information department, the orchidarium shelters more than 100 species of native and exotic orchids; about 70 per cent of the collection consists of live specimens and the rest of detailed botanical models that illustrate orchid diversity worldwide. Other sources give higher figures (120 species or more in a post by a federal ministry), so the count is best treated as approximate.

Among the plants highlighted during the official visits of 2026 are Dendrobium nobile, an indigenous species, and Cymbidium 'NaMo', a hybrid named in honour of the Prime Minister. The ICAR notes that Sikkim has nearly 560 orchid species, a figure for the state as a whole rather than for the orchidarium, and that the orchidarium shows rare and indigenous orchids of the Eastern Himalaya alongside exotic ones. The exhibition programme covers the evolution of orchids, their ecological importance and their scientific and cultural significance, and the facility presents itself as a tool for conservation awareness and eco-tourism.

The orchidarium lies on Ridge Road, near the Chief Minister's official residence and next to the White Memorial Hall, on a flat stretch of the Ridge. A travel operator advises allowing between 45 minutes and an hour and a half and visiting in spring, from March to June, for the peak of orchid blooms; the municipal corporation announces opening every day from 11 am to 6 pm ("Visitor Information" page, 2026). The Utsav Plaza above the orchidarium is a public space.

The municipal corporation lists among the nearby places Tsuklakhang Monastery at the end of the Ridge.