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Dhankuta ( ) is a hill town and the headquarters of Dhankuta District in Koshi Province in Eastern Nepal. According to 2011 Nepal census, it has population of 26,440 inhabitants.
Income to purchase items (cloth, kerosene, batteries, medicines, etc.) that could not be produced locally came from a combination of sales of hill produce (tangerines, potatoes, etc.) and funds repatriated back into the hills by Gorkha soldiers serving first in the British and then more-often in the Indian armies.
The first five American Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Dhankuta Bazaar in Fall, 1962 to work as teachers in the two high schools. In October 1963 three additional volunteers arrived to help establish the new Panchayat Development program.
From 1963 Nepal was divided into 75 Panchayat Districts, and the traditional Dhankuta administrative region was divided up into about six of the panchayat districts. The power of the Bada Hakim was transferred to the central government's appointed Panchayat Development Officer and each district's elected Panchayat President.
During the pre-panchayat period Dhankuta Bazaar prided itself as being in the cultural vanguard, a relatively progressive community with its own "intellectual" elite. Dhankuta Bazaar, already in the 1930s, had the only high school in Nepal to be located outside of the Kathmandu Valley. Early on it added a girl's high school and a two-year college.Professor Dick Mayer, Nepal 2 Peace Corps Volunteer, 1963–65
Then and now there is a sharp contrast between Dhankuta Bazaar and the surrounding rural villages. The town is a commercial center and has a population that is primarily Newar. The surrounding area is agricultural and the population is made up of many caste/tribal groups, notably Athpare language, Limbu people, Yakkha people, Rai, Magar people, Tamang people and Tibetan people.
One of the famous places in Dhankuta is Hile. It serves as a gateway to Dhankuta and Panchthar districts and from here, visitors can also trek to the temple of Goddes Pahtibhara, situated three kilometers west of the place. Another place situated here is the Rajarani valley, which is a place of historical significance and is also believed to be the capital of Limbu people kingdom in the past. The place that once had two ponds called Raja and Rani now lay as plain areas.
In terms of ethnicity/caste, 20.5% were Chhetri, 15.7% Aathpariya, 10.1% Rai people, 9.6% Bahun, 9.3% Newar people, 8.2% Tamang people, 7.3% Magars, 4.3% Limbu people, 3.8% Kami, 1.9% Damai/Dholi, 1.4% Gharti/Bhujel, 1.4% Thakuri, 1.2% Sarki, 0.6% Yakkha people, 0.5% Sherpa people, 0.4% Gurung people, 0.3% Bantawa, 0.3% Majhi, 0.3% Nepalese Muslims, 0.3% Tharu people, 0.2% Halwai, 0.2% Teli, 0.2% other Terai, 0.1% Bengalis, 0.1% Bhotiya, 0.1% Terai Brahmin, 0.1% Chamar/Harijan/Ram, 0.1% Chamling, 0.1% other Dalit, 0.1% Dom, 0.1% Hajjam/Thakur, 0.1% Kalwar, 0.1% Kayastha, 0.1% Marwari people, 0.1% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.1% Yadav and 0.5% others. NepalMap Caste [2]
In terms of religion, 62.5% were Hindu, 23.6% Kirat Mundhum, 11.2% Buddhist, 1.8% Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.1% Animism and 0.4% others. NepalMap Religion [3]
In terms of literacy, 81.7% could read and write, 1.5% could only read and 16.8% could neither read nor write. NepalMap Literacy [4]
‘Nepal's cleanest city’ as proposed by The Kathmandu post.
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