Kathmandu District (Nepali: काठमाडौं जिल्ला; Nepal Bhasa: ये: जिल्ला) is a district located in Kathmandu Valley, Bagmati Province of Nepal. It is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal, covers an area of 413.69 km2 (159.73 sq mi), and is the most densely populated district of Nepal with 1,081,845 inhabitants in 2001, 1,744,240 in 2011 and 2,041,587 in 2021. The administrative headquarters of Kathmandu district is located in Kathmandu. The city has 21 post offices which handle mail from across the country and beyond, with Kathmandu DPO having 44,600 as its postal code for international mail delivery services like UPS or DHL Couriers etc.
Contents
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 1,262 m (4,140 ft) to 2,732 m (8,963 ft) above sea level.
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 the 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 Shakta pithas 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
Holil
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
Economy
Kathmandu is the biggest economic hub of Nepal. Most of the offices and industries of Nepal are in Kathmandu. People from all over Nepal come to Kathmandu for better education, health services, job opportunities and social security. The major economic hubs are New Road, Durbar Marg, Putalisadak, Asan. The district exports handicrafts, artworks, garments, pashmina, paper etc. Kathmandu has the highest number of tourists influx in the country. 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:
Demographics
At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Kathmandu District had a population of 2,041,587. 5.65% of the population is under 5 years of age. It has a literacy rate of 89.23% and a sex ratio of 971 females per 1000 males. The entire population lived in municipalities.
Population-wise Bahun (Hill Brahmin), Chhetri, Newar, Tamang and Magars are the top 5 prominent ethnic and caste in Kathmandu district
At the time of the 2021 census, 61.07% of the population had as their mother tongue Nepali, 15.08% Nepal Bhasha, 9.62% Tamang, 2.08% Magar, 1.91% Maithili, 1.49% Bhojpuri, 1.35% Gurung, 1.33% Sherpa and 1.00% Rai. In 2011, 62.6% of the population spoke Nepali 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