For those who have keen interest in science, the Central Salt and Marine Research Institute is an interesting place. Many scholars, from across the country as well as abroad, visit the institute for research purpose. It is located on Waghavadi Road and enjoys immense popularity.
Founded in 1900, a magnificent one man collection of rare Arabic and Persian manuscripts, Rajput and Mughal paintings, oddities like the Koran inscribed in a book only 25mm wide and an assortment of old and new books from the University of Cordoba, Spain. It is one of the national libraries in India. The library also contains the only books to survive the sacking of the Moorish University of Cordoba in Spain.
This institute is located at about half a kilometre uphill from the main market of Gangtok. It was established with the purpose of promoting the manufacture and sale of local handicrafts. Thankas (also spelt as Thangkas), hand carved wooden tables - known as Choksees and exquisitely woven woolen carpets.
In the serene surrounding amidst forest of oak, ash and birch is an organisation to advance the Tibetan language and its literature on the "Enlightened one", the only one of its kind in the world of Mahayana Buddhism. This institute is a premier institute in the world that conducts research in the language and culture of Tibet. It has on its faculty eminent scholars. The library and museum of the institute are open to the public on working days from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm and are closed on Sundays and other govt. holidays
The library is a repository of thousands of block-printed commentaries and treatises on the subject of Mahayana Buddhism. This is a valuable resource for Buddhist scholars in the region. Even the paper used is produced by the Monpas locally, from the bark of the Hong Seng tree.
Sprawling over an area of 80 acres is a Government farm. Research & Development programmes for cultivation of spices like cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut and pepper are conducted here. Research and Demonstration farm of the Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI) is nearby.