Mangardzong and the story of the Mangar raja

The Soreng district administration lists Mangardzong as a historic site in Tharpu. Its account, which it attributes to local people, says that around 1600 a Mangar ruler, Sintu Pati Sen, governed this area. In the time of Chogyal Phuntsog Namgyal, other rulers in Sikkim surrendered their titles, but Sintu Pati Sen refused and went to war against the Chogyal. He won. Later, the account says, the Chogyal attacked Mangardzong with Tibetan soldiers, chased the raja through the jungle, and killed him in a meadow still known as Raja Tar.

We tell this as the district does: an oral history kept by the community. Wikipedia gives 1642 for Phuntsog Namgyal's consecration, so the date of around 1600 should be read loosely. What matters is the perspective. Most written histories of Sikkim follow the Namgyal dynasty; Mangardzong preserves the memory of a ruler who resisted it, and of the Mangar people who lived here before the kingdom took its later shape.

The state government has been building a memorial at the site, and the district described it as under construction; check current status before you travel. A local guide, about ₹500–1,000, can show you the site and, if possible, Raja Tar, and tell the story in the version his or her family knows. Allow about two hours. Be respectful at any shrine or memorial, and ask before photographing people.