Locat­ed at the heart of the Himalayan range in north­ern India (State of Sikkim), the Khangchend­zon­ga Nation­al Park includes a unique diver­si­ty of plains, val­leys, lakes, glac­i­ers and spec­tac­u­lar, snow-capped moun­tains cov­ered with ancient forests, includ­ing the world‘s third high­est peak, Mount Khangchend­zon­ga. Mytho­log­i­cal sto­ries are asso­ci­at­ed with this moun­tain and with a great num­ber of nat­ur­al ele­ments (caves, rivers, lakes, etc.) that are the object of wor­ship by the indige­nous peo­ple of Sikkim. The sacred mean­ings of these sto­ries and prac­tices have been inte­grat­ed with Bud­dhist beliefs and con­sti­tute the basis for Sikkimese iden­ti­ty.