Taplejung District
Taplejung District is one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal and one of the 14 districts of Koshi Province. It is located deep in the Himalayas in Eastern Nepal with བོད to the north across the Himalayas. Taplejung is the third largest district of Nepal.
The district covers an area of and has a total population of 127,461. The district is surrounded by Tibet in the north, Sankhuwasabha District in the west, Tehrathum District and Panchthar District in the south and Sikkim in the east. Geographically, the district is located at a latitude of 27º 06' to 27º 55'N and a longitude of 87º57' to 88°12' E.
Etymology
In Limbu language">Limbu language">Limbu language, Taplejong means "a fort of King Taple".Here "Taple" is said to be the name of the Limbu king and "jong" Fort word derived from the Taplejung medieval times, a fort built by King Taple stood in the area.History
limbu /yakthungLimbus were given more rights and given kipat and Limbuwan is found in 9 districts.
Before the unification of Nepal, the area of Taplejung and its surrounds were called after 19th century 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.
In 1962 when the traditional old 32 districts divided into 75, the three thums 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 is located. It is situated at elevation ranging from to from sea level.The 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 the many tributaries of Tamur are important sources of freshwater. There are more 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, talung, Kabru, Nepal peak, Kumbhkarna etc. Kanchenjunga Conservation Area is a protected area in the district which covers an area of.
| Climate Zone | Elevation Range | % of Area |
| Upper Tropical | 300 to 1,000 meters 1,000 to 3,300 ft. | 2.4% |
| Subtropical | 1,000 to 2,000 meters 3,300 to 6,600 ft. | 14.8% |
| Temperate | 2,000 to 3,000 meters 6,400 to 9,800 ft. | 19.5% |
| Subalpine | 3,000 to 4,000 meters 9,800 to 13,100 ft. | 16.8% |
| Alpine | 4,000 to 5,000 meters 13,100 to 16,400 ft. | 38.8% |
| Nival | above 5,000 meters | 7.7% |
Demographics
At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Taplejung district had a population of 120,590. Taplejung has a sex ratio of 984 females per 1000 males. 28,449 lived in urban areas.As their first language, 35.40% of the
population spoke Limbu, 24.59% Nepali, 24.30% Sherpa, 4.25% Tamang, 2.78% Gurung, 2.19% Rai and 0.92% Magar as their first language.
Ethnicity/caste wise, in 2021 42.60% were Limbu, 12.00% Sherpa, 11.7% Chhetri, 2.70% Hill Brahmin, 4.06% Rai, 4.73% Gurung, 4.66% Tamang, 4.55% Kami, 1.45% Damai, 1.39% Newar, 1.10% Magar, 1.05% Sunuwar and 0.95% Mijar.
Religion: 40.55% were Kirati, 17.45% Hindu, 38.44% Buddhist, 2.60% Christian, 0.66% Bon and 0.34% others.
Literacy: 71.0% could read and write, 2.8% could only read and 26.1% could neither read nor write.
Administration
Taplejung District is administered by Taplejung District Coordination Committee. 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 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.
| Administration | Name | Head |
| Legislative | District Coordination Committee | Ghanendra Maden |
| Executive | District Administration Office | Dorendra Niraula |
| Judicial | District Court | Prakash Raut |
Division
Taplejung is divided in total 9 local level bodies, in which only Phungling is an urban municipality otherwise all other local level bodies are rural municipality.| SN | Local level unit | Type | Population | Area | No. of wards |
| 1 | Phungling | urban | 26406 | 125.57 | 11 |
| 2 | Aathrai Tribeni | rural | 13784 | 88.83 | 5 |
| 3 | Sidingwa | rural | 12099 | 206 | 7 |
| 4 | Phaktanglung | rural | 12017 | 1858.51 | 7 |
| 5 | Mikkwakhola | rural | 9160 | 442.96 | 5 |
| 6 | Meringden | rural | 12548 | 210.33 | 6 |
| 7 | Maiwakhola | rural | 11037 | 138 | 6 |
| 8 | Pathibhara Yangwarak | rural | 13591 | 93.76 | 6 |
| 9 | Sirijangha | rural | 15806 | 481.09 | 8 |
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 and 2 Provincial constituencies| Constituencies | Type | Area | MP/MLA | Party |
| Taplejung 1 | Parliamentary | whole Taplejung district | Yogesh Bhattarai | UML |
| Taplejung 1 | Provincial | Phungling, Yangwarak, Sidingba, Sirijangha and the ward no. 3 of Phaktanglung | Til Kumar Menyangbo Limbu | UML |
| Taplejung 1 | Provincial | Aathrai Tribeni, Maiwakhola, Meringden, Mikwakhola and Phaktanglung | Khagen Singh Hangam | NC |