District of Nepal · Sudur Paschim Province
Darchula District: land cover, map and municipalities
Rangeland is the largest land cover in Darchula District, at 52.2% of its area. Forest covers 32.6% (less than the national 41.4%), farmland 0.2%, rangeland 52.2%, built-up land 0.7%, bare land, rock and snow 12.8% and water 1.5%.
Land cover of Darchula District
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 0.7 | 0.0–1.7 | 16 |
| Agriculture land | 0.2 | 0.0–0.6 | 5 |
| Rangeland | 52.2 | 34.3–70.1 | 1,221 |
| Forest land | 32.6 | 15.0–50.3 | 763 |
| Water | 1.5 | 0.0–3.2 | 35 |
| Barren land | 12.8 | 0.0–27.6 | 299 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 16 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Darchula District year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: rangeland +1.3 points, forest land −1.2 points, barren land −0.2 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 Darchula District
| Local unit | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apihimal | 613 | 22.9 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Byas | 838 | 13.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Duhun | 65 | 43.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Lekam | 84 | 54.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| Mahakali | 135 | 65.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| Malikarjun | 101 | 68.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Marma | 208 | 42.7 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Naugad | 180 | 50.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Shailyashikhar | 118 | 41.8 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
Local-unit land cover is from the 10 m Impact Observatory map (2025), clipped to each boundary.
Fires in Darchula District each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Darchula District: about 138 a year on average, most in 2021 (467).
Questions about Darchula District
- What is the forest cover of Darchula District?
- About 32.6% of Darchula District is forest (95% interval 15.0–50.3%), roughly 763 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 16 sample sites. That ranks 51st of 77 districts.
- How much of Darchula District is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 0.7% (15.9 km²). Darchula District ranks 49th of 77 districts for built-up share.
- How big is Darchula District?
- Darchula District covers 2,340 km² and has 9 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.