District of Nepal · Sudur Paschim Province
Achham District: land cover, map and municipalities
Rangeland is the largest land cover in Achham District, at 51.4% of its area. Forest covers 43.0% (about the same as the national 41.4%), farmland 0.8%, rangeland 51.4%, built-up land 2.2%, bare land, rock and snow 1.3% and water 1.4%.
Land cover of Achham District
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 2.2 | 0.0–4.9 | 37 |
| Agriculture land | 0.8 | 0.0–2.0 | 14 |
| Rangeland | 51.4 | 34.0–68.8 | 874 |
| Forest land | 43.0 | 25.1–60.8 | 730 |
| Water | 1.4 | 0.0–3.6 | 24 |
| Barren land | 1.3 | 0.0–3.4 | 21 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 12 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Achham District year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: forest land +2.8 points, rangeland −1.8 points, agriculture land −1.2 points.
Coloured lines: the U-Net on each year's Sentinel-2 cloudless mosaic, with 95% intervals. Grey: the independent 10 m Impact Observatory map at the same sites. Differences of a few points between years can come from how each year's mosaic was processed, and the 2016 and 2018 mosaics are read less reliably (too little built-up land, too much bare land and water); compare from 2019 on.
Municipalities and rural municipalities of Achham District
| Local unit | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bannigadhi Jayagadh | 58 | 46.5 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| Chaurpati | 182 | 54.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Dhakari | 228 | 57.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Kamal bazar | 121 | 52.4 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
| Khaptad | 39 | 89.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Mangalsen | 220 | 66.7 | 0.4 | 1.5 |
| Mellekh | 135 | 50.8 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Panchdebal Binayak | 148 | 42.9 | 4.3 | 0.5 |
| Ramaroshan | 173 | 53.2 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Sanphebagar | 166 | 58.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| Turmakhand | 232 | 53.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 |
Local-unit land cover is from the 10 m Impact Observatory map (2025), clipped to each boundary.
Fires in Achham District each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Achham District: about 621 a year on average, most in 2021 (1,525).
Questions about Achham District
- What is the forest cover of Achham District?
- About 43.0% of Achham District is forest (95% interval 25.1–60.8%), roughly 730 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 12 sample sites. That ranks 43rd of 77 districts.
- How much of Achham District is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 2.2% (37.4 km²). Achham District ranks 36th of 77 districts for built-up share.
- How big is Achham District?
- Achham District covers 1,700 km² and has 11 local units (municipalities and rural municipalities).
Source: Nepal-adapted U-Net (Khadka & Pradhan 2026) on Esri and EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery; Impact Observatory/Esri 10 m land cover; boundaries: Survey Department of Nepal via OCHA.