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 (2011) of 163,412. Dhankuta is the district headquarters of Dhankuta District.
History.
Dhankuta was a part of Limbuwan (Pallo kirat) 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 (by area) 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 (Rani Ban – Queen's Forest) spreads along a ridge line on the northwest side of the village, with well-developed mature stands of rhododendron and sallo (pine) trees.
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.The largest ethnic group is Khas/Chhetri make 37% of total population, The Second largest group is Rai makes 29% of total dist population, Limbu makes 12% of total population and magar makes 9% of total population, Tamangs 5% of total population..others make 8% ( Bahun,Newar etc).
51.8% of the population in the district spoke Nepali, 1.4% Bantawa and 0.6% Chintang as their second language.n
Divisions.
Dhankuta is divided into 3 urban municipalities and 4 rural municipalities.
Former divisions.
Formerly Dhankuta was divided into 2 municipalities and many Village development committees.
Constituencies.
Dhankuta District has a single Parliamentary constituency and 2 Provincial constituencies:
Transportation.
Dhankuta, the headquarter (center) of Dhankuta District is connected with NH-08 (Koshi Highway), which connects Dhankuta with NH-01 (East-west Highway) at Itahari. Itahari is at distance from Dhankuta. The NH-08 also connects Dhankuta to northern hill and mountainous area.