District of Nepal · Koshi Province
Taplejung District: land cover, map and municipalities
Forest land is the largest land cover in Taplejung District, at 33.9% of its area. Forest covers 33.9% (less than the national 41.4%), farmland 0.0%, rangeland 33.0%, built-up land 0.1%, bare land, rock and snow 31.6% and water 1.6%.
Land cover of Taplejung District
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 0.1 | 0.0–0.1 | 2 |
| Agriculture land | 0.0 | 0.0–0.0 | 0 |
| Rangeland | 33.0 | 19.5–46.5 | 1,197 |
| Forest land | 33.9 | 17.9–49.9 | 1,230 |
| Water | 1.6 | 0.0–4.1 | 56 |
| Barren land | 31.6 | 14.8–48.3 | 1,147 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 25 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Taplejung District year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: rangeland +2.2 points, barren land −2.1 points, forest 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 Taplejung District
| Local unit | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aatharai Tribeni | 89 | 80.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Maiwakhola | 137 | 79.3 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Meringden | 210 | 70.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Mikwakhola | 442 | 49.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Pathivara Yangwarak | 93 | 71.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Phaktanlung | 1,852 | 21.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Phungling | 125 | 82.2 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Sidingba | 205 | 68.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sirijanga | 479 | 50.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Local-unit land cover is from the 10 m Impact Observatory map (2025), clipped to each boundary.
Fires in Taplejung District each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Taplejung District: about 145 a year on average, most in 2024 (304).
Questions about Taplejung District
- What is the forest cover of Taplejung District?
- About 33.9% of Taplejung District is forest (95% interval 17.9–49.9%), roughly 1,230 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 25 sample sites. That ranks 50th of 77 districts.
- How much of Taplejung District is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 0.1% (1.8 km²). Taplejung District ranks 66th of 77 districts for built-up share.
- How big is Taplejung District?
- Taplejung District covers 3,632 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.