Chaukori

Chaukori
Chaukori
Village
	Chaukori
	Chaukori Location in Uttarakhand, India Chaukori Chaukori (India)
	Coordinates: 29°50′28″N 80°01′50″E / 29.84124°N 80.030594°E
Country	India
State	Uttarakhand
Division	Kumaon
District	Pithoragarh
Area
• Total	8.3618 km2 (3.2285 sq mi)
Elevation	2,010 m (6,590 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	1,163
• Density	140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi; Sanskrit
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration	UK 05
Website	uk.gov.in

Chaukori is a hill station in the Pithoragarh district set among the lofty peaks of the western Himalayan Range in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand, India. To its north is Tibet and to its south is Terai. The Mahakali River, running along its eastern boundary, forms the Indo-Nepal international border. This place has become a prominent tourist place and from here a wide and picturesque view of Himalayan range can be viewed. The golden yellow colour of sun rays falling on the Himalayan range in the morning time is really worth seeing. There are cottages available here where one can stay and enjoy the serene surroundings. Tourists coming to this place generally also visit the nearby tourist places like Patal Bhuvaneshwar, Kausani, Bageshwar and Almora.

Geography

Chaukori is located in Berinag Tehsil of Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand, India.^[3] It is situated 10km away from sub-district headquarter Berinag^[4] and 86km away from district headquarter Pithoragarh.^[1] Chaukori's elevation is 2010 m with spectacular panoramic views of the snowy peaks of Nanda Devi, Nanda Kot and the Panchchuli group.

Demographics

Chaukori is a medium size village located in Berinag of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand with total 248 families residing. Total population of Chaukori is 1163 out of which 672 are males while 491 are females as per Population Census 2011.^[3]^[5] In Chaukori, population of children with age 0-6 is 190 which makes up 16.34 % of total population.^[3] Average Sex Ratio of Chaukori is 731^[5] which is lower than Uttarakhand state average of 963.^[3] Child Sex Ratio for Chaukori as per census is 624,^[5] lower than Uttarakhand average of 890.^[3] Chaukori has lower literacy rate as compared to Uttarakhand. In 2011, literacy rate of Chaukori was 76.36 %^[5] compared to 78.82 % of Uttarakhand.^[3] In Chaukori, Male literacy stands at 87.03 % while female literacy rate was 62.20 %.^[3] In Chaukori, most of the villagers are from Schedule Caste (SC). Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 38.95 %^[5] while Schedule Tribe (ST) were 0.77 % of total population in Chaukori.^[3] In Chaukori, out of total population, 354 were engaged in work activities.^[3] 74.58 % of workers describe their work as Main Work (Employment or Earning more than 6 Months) while 25.42 % were involved in Marginal activity providing livelihood for less than 6 months.^[3] Of 354 workers engaged in Main Work, 45 were cultivators (owner or co-owner) while 1 were Agricultural labourer.^[3] As per constitution of India and Panchyati Raaj Act, Chaukori is administrated by a Sarpanch who is an elected representative of the village.^[3]

Temples

Gangolihat, 35 km away, is an important religious centre with the Hat-Kalika temple. Also in the general area are the following temples:^[6]

Mahakali Temple of Gangolihat
Patal Bhuvaneshwar
Mostamanu temple
Nagmandir of Berinag
Ghunsera Devi Temple
Kedar temple
Nakuleshwar Temple
Kamaksha Temple
Kapileshwar Mahadev cave temple
Ulkadevi Temple
Jayanti Temple Dhwaj
Arjuneshwar Shiva temple
Kot Gari Devi
Tripuradevi temple
Maa bhagawati Devi temple
Sri Moolnarayan temple

Transport

Chaukori is well connected with Motorable roads to major destinations in Kumaon. The Udiari Bend in Chaukori marks the intersection of roads coming from Kanda-Bageshwar, Seraghat-Almora and Thal-Munsiari. Seraghat is a tri-junction which is connecting to Naini through separate road via Dhankhet, Salla Bhatkot, Nali, Kunj Kimola etc village panchayat. Shared Taxis, locally called Jeeps are the mostly preferred for short distance Transport. Jeeps ply from Chaukori to the nearby towns of Berinag, Kanda and Thal. Buses are mostly used for Interstate Transport. Bus services are provided by the state owned 'Uttarakhand Transport Corporation' and the privately owned 'K.M.O.U bus Services'. Buses connect Chaukori with the cities of Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, Almora, Dharchula and Delhi. Distance from other cities and towns are listed below.^[7]