They are traditionally herders and live mainly in the Shivalik Hills region of Uttarakhand.

They follow Islam and are traditionally a pastoral semi-nomadic community, known for practising transhumance while having their own ethnic clans.

[1] Van Gujjars migrate with herds of semi-wild water buffaloes to the Shivalik Hills at the foot of the Himalayas in winter and migrate to the alpine pastures higher up the Himalayas in summer.

Van Gujjars are known to be lactovegetarians due to sole dependence on buffalo-herding and milk delivery as a livelihood opportunity.

[2] Though the Indian Forest Rights Act of 2006 grants them forest land rights for being "traditional forest dwellers", they experience conflicts with the local state forest authorities that prohibit human and livestock populations inside reserved parks.