District of Nepal · Bagmati Province
Sindhupalchok District: land cover, map and municipalities
Forest land is the largest land cover in Sindhupalchok District, at 57.1% of its area. Forest covers 57.1% (more than the national 41.4%), farmland 0.0%, rangeland 41.6%, built-up land 0.1%, bare land, rock and snow 1.0% and water 0.2%.
Land cover of Sindhupalchok District
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 0.1 | 0.0–0.2 | 2 |
| Agriculture land | 0.0 | 0.0–0.0 | 0 |
| Rangeland | 41.6 | 29.1–54.1 | 1,035 |
| Forest land | 57.1 | 43.7–70.5 | 1,422 |
| Water | 0.2 | 0.0–0.7 | 6 |
| Barren land | 1.0 | 0.0–2.6 | 26 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 17 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Sindhupalchok District year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: rangeland +9.0 points, agriculture land −3.4 points, forest land −3.1 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 Sindhupalchok District
| Local unit | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahrabise | 135 | 55.2 | 2.5 | 6.1 |
| Balephi | 62 | 56.3 | 3.1 | 9.2 |
| Bhotekoshi | 278 | 52.9 | 0.1 | 1.3 |
| Choutara Sangachowkgadhi | 165 | 66.1 | 2.5 | 10.8 |
| Helambu | 288 | 50.8 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Indrawoti | 105 | 64.2 | 5.2 | 8.5 |
| Jugal | 596 | 34.8 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| Lisankhu Pakhar | 99 | 71.4 | 0.2 | 6.0 |
| Melamchi | 161 | 59.5 | 1.9 | 11.4 |
| Panchpokhari Thangpal | 436 | 51.6 | 0.5 | 1.6 |
| Sunkoshi | 73 | 68.6 | 1.4 | 9.3 |
| Tripurasundari | 94 | 65.9 | 0.8 | 4.3 |
Local-unit land cover is from the 10 m Impact Observatory map (2025), clipped to each boundary.
Fires in Sindhupalchok District each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Sindhupalchok District: about 176 a year on average, most in 2021 (601).
Questions about Sindhupalchok District
- What is the forest cover of Sindhupalchok District?
- About 57.1% of Sindhupalchok District is forest (95% interval 43.7–70.5%), roughly 1,422 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 17 sample sites. That ranks 26th of 77 districts.
- How much of Sindhupalchok District is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 0.1% (2.4 km²). Sindhupalchok District ranks 65th of 77 districts for built-up share.
- How big is Sindhupalchok District?
- Sindhupalchok District covers 2,491 km² and has 12 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.