Only 2 kms from the main town of Gangtok - Namgyal Institute of Tibetology is one of the most important and famous institutes in the world that does research in the areas of Tibetan language and culture. It is a prominent tourist sightseeing spot of Gangtok as well as Sikkim and also has a museum in its premises which has rare collections of statues, coins, thangkas (that are scrolls with hand paintings & embroidery work), Tibetan art work & objects, and ancient manuscripts, as well as a Tibetan library with the largest collections of Tibetan documents and literatures in the world and also a reference center about Tibet and Himalayas in general. For tourists it is open on weekdays from 10am in the morning to 4pm in the evening.