Before the Gorkha expansion, the area belonged to the wider Kirati cultural and political landscape, divided among local Kirati communities and chiefs; the Athpahariya Rai around Dhankuta developed a distinctive culture rooted in Mundum traditions and ancestral worship, while Kirati King Budhahang is traditionally associated with the Khalsa area (Ankhisalla-Chhintang) and remembered for resisting the Gorkha advance. The eastern hills were also tied to Limbuwan, and the 1774 Gorkha-Limbuwan agreement preserved Limbu customary rights including Kipat during Prithvi Narayan Shah's unification campaign. After 1816, Dhankuta-Chainpur was one of Nepal's 10 districts, covering all land east of the Dudhkosi to the Mechi river; from 1885 to 1962 it was the centre of a much larger district encompassing present-day Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, Taplejung, Panchthar and Dhankuta (8,930 sq km). In 1962 Nepal was reorganized into 75 districts, and Dhankuta became the headquarters of the Eastern Development Region's 16 eastern districts. Today the hill town of Dhankuta remains the district headquarters on the Koshi Highway.
Researched by the ChillNepal team from published sources. Spot something out of date? Tell us from the place's page.
