Kathmandu District

Kathmandu District ( ne, काठमाडौं जिल्ला; Nepal Bhasa: ये: जिल्ला) is a district located in Kathmandu Valley, Bagmati Province of Nepal. It is one of the 77 districts of Nepal, covers an area of , and is the most densely populated district of Nepal with 1,081,845 inhabitants in 2001, 1,744,240 in 2011 and 2,017,532 in 2021. The administrative headquarters of Kathmandu district is located in Kathmandu.

Geography

Kathmandu district is one of the three districts located in Kathmandu Valley, which itself is located in the hills of Bagmati Province. The district is located from 27°27′E to 27°49′E longitude and 85°10′N to 85°32′N latitude.

The district is surrounded by:
*East: Bhaktapur District and Kavrepalanchok District
*West: Dhading District and Nuwakot District
*North: Nuwakot District and Sindhupalchok District
*South: Lalitpur District and Makwanpur District

The altitude of the district ranges from to above sea level.

Geography and climate

In the urban center, the temperature fluctuates between 32 °C in summer (June–July) to -2 °C in winter (December–January). Except for the high hills including Chandragiri which has a temperate climate, Kathmandu district has a subtropical climate. The annual rainfall of the district is 176.4 ml.

Culture

Kathmandu district is a part of Kathmandu valley, which is a melting pot of various cultural groups, ethnicities, races, languages and religions. This vibrant culture is illustrated in the culture of the natives of the district, known as Newars, who are a multiethnic, multiracial, multireligious people bound by a Sanskritized Sino-Tibetan language of Kirat origins known as Nepal Bhasa. All the ancient settlements of the district have specific street festivals ('' jatras'') arranged according to specific dates of the Nepal Sambat calendar. The main festivals celebrated are:
*Yanya Punhi – literally meaning Kathmandu's full moon, a week-long festival during the Yenla (the month of Kathmandu) of Nepal Sambat, a festival started by Gunakamadev, the founder of Kathmandu city to commemorate the establishment of city
* Gunla – a month in which musical bands and ordinary people make pilgrimage to Swayambhunath temple
* Mohani
*Dashain – the main festival of Nepal, celebrated by visiting the various Shaktipeeths around the city
* Shivaratri – a very special festival in which people make small fire all around the city and take different types of toxic in order to show love to Lord Shiva
* Buddha Jayanti
* Sa Paru – a comic festival to commemorate dead relatives, celebrated during the full moon of Goon la
* Chatha – the birthday of Lord Ganesha of Hindu pantheon
* Holi
* Pahan Chare – a festival of Animist origin celebrated by procession of matriarchs of Kathmandu
* Shree Panchami – in the past children used to formally start education on this day. Presently, deities of wisdom, Saraswati and Manjushree (the mythological founder of the valley) are worshipped on this day
* Swanti or Tihar – a five-day festival, the third day of which is called Laxmi Puja, when the families do their annual financial calculation and the next day marks the New Year according to Nepalese calendar, Nepal Sambat.

Along with these festivals, with the influx of population from other parts of Nepal, India, Tibet and South Asia, other festivals such as Teej, Chhath, Sakela, Lhosar, Janai Purnima, Deuda etc. are also celebrated.

Economy

Most of the offices and industries of Nepal are in Kathmandu. The major economic hubs are New Road, Durbar Marg, Putalisadak, Asan. The district exports handicrafts, artworks, garments, pashmina, paper etc. Tourism is one of the main industries of the district. Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world visit various religious places located in the district such as Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath, Buddhanilkantha etc. Freak Street and Thamel are noted tourist destinations for Western tourists.

Education

Kathmandu district is the pioneer district in education in many aspects in Nepal. Durbar High School (the first school of Nepal), Trichandra College (the first college of Nepal), Padma Kanya College (the first women's college) are all located in Kathmandu city. Tribhuwan University, the first university of Nepal, is located in Kirtipur municipality of Kathmandu district. Besides these, thousands of educational institutions are located in the district which enrolls students from Nepal, India, Bangladesh etc.

Administration

The district consists of 10 Municipalities and 1 Metrocity. These are as follows:

Major cities

Cities and towns with 75,000+ population of Kathmandu district as per 2021 Nepal census.

Minor cities

* Dakshinkali Municipality
* Shankharapur Municipality

Demographics

The total population of the district is 1,744,240 out of which 913,001 are male and 831,239 female in 436,355 households.
Average family size was 4.6 in 2001 and 4.0 in 2011

Languages

At the time of the 2011 Census of Nepal, 63% of the population in the district spoke Nepali, 17% Newari, 8% Magar, 2% Maithili, and 10% spoke other languages as their first language.

Hospitals

* Bir Hospital
* Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital
* Chhetrapati Free Hospital (Chhetrapati Nishulka Chikitsalaya)
* Babukaji Memorial Hospital
* Gangalal Hridaya Kendra
*Manmohan Memorial Hospital
* Tilganga Eye Hospital

See also

*Zones of Nepal (Former)
*Kathmandu Metropolitan City
* Kathmandu Valley
*Kathmandu
*Kirtipur
* Sanglekhola
* Pasikot

References

External links

DDC KathmanduUN.org: UN map of VDC boundaries, water features and roads in Kathmandu
*

{{Coord, 27.7, 85.3, type:adm3rd, display=title

Districts of Nepal established during Rana regime or before
Districts of Bagmati Province