Gia or Gya () is a village in the

Leh district Leh district is a district in the union territory of Ladakh, India. With an area of 45,110 ''km'2'', it is the second largest district in the country smaller only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and Gha ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is located in the Kharu

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, off the

Leh–Manali Highway The Leh–Manali Highway is a long highway in northernmost India connecting Leh, the capital of the Union Territory of Ladakh, to Manali in the state of Himachal Pradesh. It connects the Manali Solang valley to the Lahaul and Spiti valley ...

, close to

Tso Kar The Tso Kar or Tsho kar is a fluctuating salt lake known for its size and depth situated in the Rupshu Plateau and valley in the southern part of Ladakh in India. It is also recognised as India's 42nd Ramsar site. Geography and climate The ...

. The village overlooks the Gya river in the

region, between the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

river valley and

Tanglang La Taglang La or Tanglang La, elevation , is a high altitude mountain pass in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is located on the NH3 Leh–Manali Highway. Rail-cum-road tunnels are being constructed under the Taglang La, Lungalacha La ...

Pass on the Leh-Manali Highway. Accessible from Upshi in the Indus River Valley, the village is located in the gorge created by the River Gya. A Buddhist

Gompa A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhism, Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a ...

with accompanying

chortens A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumambu ...

stupas A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

is situated above the village and the gorge. Most of the people are engaged in agriculture adopting organic farming. The village is still protected with its old heritage and culture for which countless tourist love to visit there.

Demographics

According to the

2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Gia has 140 households. The effective literacy rate (i.e. the literacy rate of population excluding children aged 6 and below) is 58.67%.

References

{{Leh-Manali Highway Villages in Kharu tehsil