Taplejung District ( ne, ताप्लेजुङ जिल्ला ) is one of 77 districts of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

and one of the 14 districts of

Province No. 1 Province No. 1 (proposed names: Kirat, Limbuwan, Khambuwan, Sagarmatha, Birat and Koshi) is the easternmost of the seven provinces established by the new constitution of Nepal which was adopted on 20 September 2015. The province covers an ...

. It is remotely located in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

in Eastern Nepal with

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

to the north across the Himalayas. Taplejung is the third largest district (by area) of Nepal. The district covers an area of and has a total population (

2011 Nepal census Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities and ...

) of 127,461. The district is surrounded by

in the north, Sankhuwasabha District in the west,

Tehrathum District Tehrathum District ( ne, तेह्रथुम जिल्ला ), is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of Nepal. Demographics Religion Languages Geographics See also * Radio Tehrathum * Zones of Nepal Until the esta ...

and Panchthar District in the south and

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Sil ...

(India) in the east. Geographically, the district is located at a latitude of 27º 06’ to 27º 55’N and a longitude of 87º57’ to 87º40’ E.

Etymology

Literally meaning of Taplejung is "a fort of King Taple" in Limbu language. There was a fort situated at that area in medieval times which was built by King Taple.

History

Before the

unification of Nepal The Unification of Nepal, also known as Expansion of Gorkha Kingdom, officially began in 1743 AD (1799 BS) after King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha launched an aggressive annexation campaign seeking to broaden his own kingdom's border. After ...

, the area of Taplejung and its surrounds were called ''Pallo Kirat'' Limbuwan which means "far region" and was ruled by the Limbu kings of Limbuwan. After the unification of Nepal, the area of Taplejung became a part of the large

Dhankuta District Dhankuta District ( ne, धनकुटा जिल्ला) () 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 Dha ...

. In 1962 when the traditional old 32 districts divided into 75, the three thums (counties) of the large Dhankuta district separately established a new district named "Taplejung".

Geography and climate

Geographically Taplejung is a mountainous district where the world's third highest peak

Kanchenjunga Kangchenjunga, also spelled Kanchenjunga, Kanchanjanghā (), and Khangchendzonga, is the third highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at in a section of the Himalayas, the ''Kangchenjunga Himal'', which is bounded in the west by the ...

(8586 m) is located. It is situated at elevation ranging from to from sea level. Tamor River is a main river in the district, which flows through the middle in the district dividing district in east and west Taplejung. Gunsa river, Simbuwa river and there are many tributaries of Tamur are important source of freshwater. There are over than 60 rivers and streams in the district. Some glacial lakes are: Sinjenma Pokhari, Samdo Pokhari, Tin Pokhari, Kali Pokhari etc. The district includes many highest peaks e.g. Gimmigela (7350 m), talung (7349 m), Kabru (7276 m), Nepal peak (7177 m), Kumbhkarna (7025 m) etc.

Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Kanchenjunga Conservation Area is a protected area in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that was established in 1997. It covers in the Taplejung District and comprises two peaks of Kanchenjunga. In the north it adjoins the Qomolangma National Nature ...

is a protected area in the district which covers an area of .

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 census, Taplejung had a population of 127,461, of which 60,552 were males and 66,909 females. Limbus (41.41%) were the largest ethnic group. Others include the Chhetri (11.98%), Sherpa (9.45%), Hill Brahmin (7.78%), Rai (5.05%), Kami (4.68%), Gurung (4.62%), Tamang (4.43%), Newar (1.59%), Damai (1.47%), Topkegola (1.09%), Sunuwar (1.84%) and Magar (1.00%).

Languages

At the time of the 2011 Census of Nepal, 37.80% of the population in the district spoke Limbu, 37.39%

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

, 10.65% Sherpa, 4.03% Tamang, 3.07%

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Go ...

, 2.02% Rai, and 5% spoke other languages as their first language.

Administration

Taplejung District is administered by Taplejung District Coordination Committee (Taplejung DCC). The Taplejung DCC is elected by Taplejung District Assembly. The head of Taplejung DCC is Mr. Ghanendra Maden and Mrs. Devimaya Nepali is deputy head of Taplejung DCC. Taplejung District Administration Office under

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

co-operate with Taplejung DCC to maintain peace, order and security in the district. The officer of District Administration office called CDO and current CDO of Taplejung DAO is Dorendra Niraula. Taplejung District Court is a Judicial court to see the cases of people on district level.

Division

Taplejung is divided in total 9 local level bodies, in which only

Phungling Phungling Municipality (previously also ''Taplejung Municipality'') is a municipality located in Taplejung District in the Province No. 1 of Nepal. The municipality was formed merging the then two Village Development Committees of Phungling and ...

is an urban municipality otherwise all other local level bodies are rural municipality.

Former administrative divisions

Formerly, Taplejung had one municipality and many VDCs. VDCs were the local level administrative units for villages. Fulfilling the requirement of the new constitution of Nepal 2015, on 10 March 2017 all VDCs were nullified and formed new units after grouping VDCs.

Constituencies

Taplejung District consists 1

Parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

and 2 Provincial constituencies : Taplejung1PratinidhiSabha

Transportation

Taplejung (headquarters) is connected to the rest of Nepal by the

Mechi Highway Mechi Highway ( Nepali: मेची राजमार्ग) is a two-lane freeway in Eastern Nepal, spanning about 268 kilometers in length. The highway connects all the districts of Mechi zone, hence the name ''Mechi''. It runs from the VDC ...

which meets the east–west or

Mahendra Highway Mahendra Highway (), also called East-West Highway () runs across the Terai geographical region of Nepal, from Mechinagar in the east to Bhim Datta in the west, cutting across the entire width of the country. It is the longest highway in Nepal a ...

at Charali ( Mechinagar). The distance from Mechinagar to

Taplejung Taplejung District ( ne, ताप्लेजुङ जिल्ला ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal and one of the 14 districts of Province No. 1. It is remotely located in the Himalayas in Eastern Nepal with Tibet to the north across th ...

is . A person can travel from Kathmandu to Taplejung by public bus, jeep or by flight. Taplejung Airport is a nearest airport.

Tourism

Taplejung is a best destination for trekkers.

comprises cultivated lands, forests, pastures, rivers, high altitude lakes and

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

Asian black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, so ...

red panda The red panda (''Ailurus fulgens''), also known as the lesser panda, is a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It has dense reddish-brown fur with a black belly and legs, white-lined ears, a mostly white muzzle ...

golden-breasted fulvetta The golden-breasted fulvetta (''Lioparus chrysotis'') is a species of songbird found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Taxonomy ...

, snow cock,

blood pheasant The blood pheasant (''Ithaginis cruentus''), also known as blood partridge, is the only species in genus ''Ithaginis'' of the pheasant family. It is a relatively small, short-tailed pheasant that is widespread and is fairly common in eastern Him ...

and red-billed chough can be seen in the area.

Pathibhara Devi Temple Pathibhara Devi (in Nepali: पाथिभरा देवी मन्दिर, in Limbu: Mukkumlung) is one of the most significant temples in Nepal, located on the hill of Taplejung. It is also considered one of the holy places for the Ne ...

or Mukkumlung Manghim at Taplejung hill is considered as the home to Yuma Sammang, the deity of Limbu people and thus worshipped. A 16th century Diki Chhyoling monastery lies in Olangchung-gola.

References

{{Authority control Districts of Nepal established in 1962 Districts of Province No. 1