Gunji is a small village in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is near the borders of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and the confluence of the Kuthi Yankti and

Kalapani River The Kalapani territory is an area under Indian administration as part of Pithoragarh district in the Kumaon division, Kumaon Division of the Uttarakhand state, K. C. SharadKalapani's new 'line of control' Nepali Times, 10 September 2004, p.&nbs ...

, at the east end of the

Kuthi Valley Kuthi Valley (or Kuti Valley) is a Himalayan valley situated in the Pithoragarh District, Kumaon division of the Uttarakhand state of India. Located in the eastern part of Uttarakhand at an elevation of , it is the last valley before the border ...

. The village is on the traditional Indian/Nepalese route to Kailas– Manasarovar.

Demographics

As per the 2011 census, the village of Gunji has a population of 335 people living in 194 households.Pithoragarh district census handbook
Director of Census Operations, Uttarakhand, 2011. The village is only populated seasonally, with winters coming people migrate to lower places (mostly to Dharchula, in the same district).

Sashastra Seema Bal The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB; ) is a Central Armed Police Forces, central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding Border guard, India’s borders with Indi ...

, the Indo-Tibet Border Police and GREF personnel remain there throughout the year.

Transport

Helicopter service to Gunji is available from Darchula. While approaching Gunji from south from Dharchula-Pithoragarh and the rest of India, the route along the western bank of

Sharda River The Sharda River is the downstream of Kāli River (or Mahakali River) that originates in the northern Uttarakhand state of India in the Great Himalayas on the eastern slopes of Nanda Devi massif, at an elevation of in the Pithoragarh distr ...

(also called Mahakali River) near southeast of Gunji forks into two separate motorable routes, first route PLPH (KMR) goes northeast to

Om Parvat Om Parvat is a mountain located in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand, India. Om Parvat's peak elevation is above sea level. The meaning of ''Om Parvat'' Om Parvat derives its name from the Sanskrit word Om, which is composed of three sounds ...

, Lipulekh Pass and Kailash Mansarovar and second route GLDPR goes northwest to Gunji, Kuti Valley,

Adi Kailash Adi Kailash ( Kumaoni: आदि कैलाश), also known as Shiva Kailash, Chota Kailash, Baba Kailash or Jonglingkong Peak, is a mountain located in the Himalayan mountain range in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is the ...

and Gunji-Lampiya Dhura Pass. ''

Pithoragarh Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan town with a Municipal corporation in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the largest hill town in Uttarakhand. Etymology "The district is named after its hea ...

-Lipulekh Pass Highway'' (PLPH) or ''Kailash-Mansarovar Road'' (KMR), part of ''Kailash Mansarovar

yatra ''Yatra'' (, ), in Indian religion, Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of River#Sacred rivers, sacred rivers, Sacred mountains#India, sacred mount ...

'' route, is nearly 350 km long 2-lane paved-shoulder highway which passes through Pithoragagh, Dharchula, Budhi, Garbyang, east of Gunji, ITBP camp, Nabidhang and Lipulekh Pass on India-Tibet border (under geostrategic

India-China Border Roads Chinese Indian or Indian Chinese may refer to: * China–India relations China and India maintained peaceful relations for thousands of years, but their relationship has varied since the Chinese Communist Party's victory in the Chinese Civil ...

project) to the Kailas- Manasarovar. In May 2023, the road has been 2-laned and blacktopped except the under-construction formation-cutting work on the last 5 km from the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigams' (KMVN) tourist huts to Lipulekh pass which will take 100 days to complete, and the route between Budi to Garbyang is single lane as the detail project report (DPR) for the Rs 2,000-crore 6 km long 2-lane tunnel is being prepared which will be ready by May 2024 and construction will commence in 4 to 5 years time.Suhasini Haidar,
New road to Kailash Mansarovar runs into diplomatic trouble
The Hindu, 9 May 2020. Uttarakhand: 6-km tunnel to be built between Bundi, Garbyang on way to India-China border
The Print, 23 May 2023. Southwest spur from Nabidhang runs along a glaciated river to

. ''Gunji-Lampiya Dhura Pass Road'' (GLDPR) runs through Kuti Valley from Gunji, via

, to Lampiya Dhura Pass (Limpiyadhura Pass on India-China border). After it was constructed in July 2020, it has reduced the trek time to Adi Kailash to two hours.Kalyan Das and BD Kasniyal
Road to Limpiyadhura will reduce Adi Kailash trek to two hours
Hindustan Times, 17 July 2020.

Tourism

Trekkers and other travelers can get food and accommodation at Gunji. In order to reach Gunji, travellers must obtain an Inner Line Permit (ILP) issued by SDM at Darchula, it can be obtained online. To apply for ILP, the travelers need a valid ID, a health certificate, and a character certificate.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Darchula District