Dhankuta District


Dhankuta District is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The district covers an area of and has a population of 163,412. Dhankuta is the district headquarters of Dhankuta District.

History

Dhankuta was a part of Limbuwan and Kirata Kingdom before unification of those parts into Kingdom of Nepal.
After 1816 there were 10 districts in Nepal and Dhankuta-chainpur district was one of them. All land from east of Dudhkosi river to the Mechi river was one district Dhankuta-chainpur.
From 1885 to 1962 Nepal remained divided into 32 districts and there were six districts in eastern-hill region: East No. 1, East No. 2, East No. 3, East No. 4, Ilam and Dhankuta. Dhankuta was center of these districts. That time also dhankuta was a large district. Current Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, Taplejung, Panchthar and Dhankuta districts were Incorporated under one district. The total area of the former Dhankuta district was.
In 1962, Nepal divided into 75 districts and 16 districts of eastern Nepal grouped to form Eastern Development Region and Dhankuta became the headquarter of it.

Geography and Climate

Dhankuta is a mid-hill district of eastern hill region of Nepal. It is situated between 26°53' to 27°19' north latitude and 87°8' to 88°33' east longitude. Total area of the district is and it is located at to of elevation above sea level.

Vegetation

The vegetation zones in the district range from sub-tropical Sal forest along the Tamor and Arun rivers, and cooler temperate forests on some of the high ridges that mark the watershed between the two catchments. The altitude ranges from around 300m to 2500m. The majority of the population are involved in agriculture and crops include maize, rice and millet. Important cash crops include citrus fruits, cauliflower, cabbage, ginger, and in recent years, tea. A well-preserved forest spreads along a ridge line on the northwest side of the village, with well-developed mature stands of rhododendron and sallo trees.
Climate ZoneElevation Range% of Area
Lower Tropicalbelow 300 meters 3.7%
Upper Tropical300 to 1,000 meters
1,000 to 3,300 ft.		44.7%
Subtropical1,000 to 2,000 meters
3,300 to 6,600 ft.		46.6%
Temperate2,000 to 3,000 meters
6,400 to 9,800 ft.		 3.2%

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Dhankuta District had a population of 163,412. Of these, 43.5% spoke Nepali, 12.4% Limbu, 9.6% Bantawa, 9.3% Magar, 5.7% Tamang, 3.5% Rai, 3.3% Athpariya, 3.0% Yakkha, 2.3% Chintang, 2.2% Newari, 1.2% Chulung, 0.7% Yamphu and 0.6% Maithili as their first language.
51.8% of the population in the district spoke Nepali, 1.4% Bantawa and 0.6% Chintang as their second language.

Divisions

Dhankuta is divided into 3 urban municipalities and 4 rural municipalities.
No.TypeNameNepaliPopulation AreaWebsite
1UrbanDhankutaधनकुटा36,619111
2UrbanPakhribasपाख्रीबास22078144.29
3UrbanMahalaxmiमहालक्ष्मी24,800129
4RuralSangurigadhiसागुरीगढी21,536147.6
5RuralChaubiseचौविसे19,283147.6
6RuralKhalsa Chhintang Sahidbhumiखाल्सा छिन्ताङ सहीदभूमि18,76099.55
7RuralChhathar Jorpatiछथर जोरपाटी18,322102.83
DistrictDhankutaधनकुटा163,412892

Former divisions

Formerly Dhankuta was divided into 2 municipalities and many Village development committees.
Dhankuta District has a single Parliamentary constituency and 2 Provincial constituencies:

Transportation

Dhankuta, the headquarter of Dhankuta District is connected with NH-08, which connects Dhankuta with NH-01 at Itahari. Itahari is at distance from Dhankuta. The NH-08 also connects Dhankuta to northern hill and mountainous area.

Tourist areas