At one of India's most remote Himalayan outposts, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived in Gunji village, Pithoragarh district, on Monday, 26 October 2026, to personally cheer on participants of the Adi Kailash Parikrama Run 2.0 — a high-altitude endurance event that traces the sacred circuit around Adi Kailash, one of Uttarakhand's most venerated pilgrimage peaks.

The Chief Minister's Office of Uttarakhand confirmed the visit on X, noting that 'मुख्यमंत्री श्री पुष्कर सिंह धामी ने धावकों का किया उत्साहवर्धन' — 'Chief Minister Dhami encouraged and energised the runners.' The gesture signals the state government's deepening investment in combining adventure sport with Himalayan pilgrimage traditions.

Gunji: Where the High Himalayas Meet the Indo-China Border

Gunji is no ordinary finish-line backdrop. Nestled in Dharchula tehsil near the Indo-China border, it sits at the crossroads of the ancient Kailash Mansarovar route and newer adventure trails. Getting here is itself an achievement — for a Chief Minister to travel to this frontier village is a pointed statement about state priorities in border areas.

The village serves as a critical staging point for high-altitude expeditions and is central to Uttarakhand's push to activate tourism in its most remote corners. A CM's presence at an event here is rare, and runners would have felt it.

Adi Kailash: The Parikrama That Rivals Mansarovar

Adi Kailash, sometimes called 'Chhota Kailash', is a sacred peak in Pithoragarh district that mirrors the iconography of Tibet's Mount Kailash — considered the abode of Lord Shiva in Hindu tradition. The Uttarakhand government has actively promoted the Adi Kailash Yatra as a fully domestic alternative to the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, which crosses into Chinese-administered territory and has faced diplomatic disruptions.

The Parikrama Run fuses this devotional circuit with competitive endurance running — a format that has gained popularity across the Indian Himalayas as a way to draw younger, adventure-oriented visitors to high-altitude religious sites.

Border Tourism as State Strategy

Dhami's visit fits a clear pattern. Uttarakhand under his leadership has consistently prioritised adventure and religious tourism events in Himalayan border districts, using them as economic anchors for villages that might otherwise lose population to urban migration. A run that draws participants to Gunji fills guesthouses, employs local guides, and puts remote places on the national map.

This is the second edition of the event — 'Run 2.0' — suggesting the inaugural edition was successful enough to justify a repeat, with what appears to be continued high-level political backing.

The runners who reached Gunji on Monday did so on terrain most people will never see. The Chief Minister made sure they knew the state was watching — and counting on them to keep coming back.