Ilam district is one of the most beautiful destinations for every tourist worldwide. It is tucked in the heart of the Eastern part of our country. Ilam is derived from a Limbu word where “IL” means warped, and “Lam” means road. Ilam was one of the ten self-ruling states of Limbuwan before the collation of Nepal. The ruler was King Hangshu Phuba Kingdom, who ruled the kingdom until 1813 AD. Ilam was the last of the ten kingdoms of Limbuwan to be reunited in Nepal. The King of Gorkha gave the ruler full sovereignty to rule and the right of Kipat. Ilam was the independent Limbu Kingdom until 1869 BS.
Ilam district is located in province no 1 of Nepal. It lies in Mahabharat’s hilly region of the country. It lies in the Mechi Zone. Ilam District is famous for “Aa” like Aadhuwa(ginger), Aoolan(Dairy Products), Aakabare Khorsani ( Red round chili), Aamliso(Broom), Aalu (potato), and Aalaichi(Cardomom). It is famous for producing tea, green tea, and milk products like churpi, lollipop, ghee, cheese, curd, and paneer. It is the largest producer of Nepali tea. The amazing natural beauty of the majestic tea garden, temples, beautiful places, ponds, green forest, rivers, parks, unique culture, and many more. It is one of the best travel destinations in Nepal by different websites, review portals, travel magazines, news, and many more.
Ilam district is easily one of the most beautiful places in Nepal. It is one of the richest districts according to the culture, tea garden and tea productions, and natural landscape. It lies between the Himalayan range and various places in the summer season, attracting various tourists throughout the year. The neighboring districts are Jhapa and Taplejung. It has a border with India as well.
The headquarter of the district is Ilam Municipality. Ilam is divided into 4 Municipalities:-
- Ilam Municipality
- Deumai Municipality
- Suryodaya Municipality
and six rural municipalities . They are:-
- Rong Rural Municipality
- Mangsebung Rural Municipality
- Chulachuli Rural Municipality
- Sandakpur Rural Municipality
- Maijogmai Rural Municipality
- Fakphokthum Rural Municipality
Ilam district also has a small airport that lies in Ilam municipality. The major 4 rivers of the Ilam districts are Mai river, Deumai river, Jogmai river, and Puwamai river. Its total area is 1703 square kilometers.Flora and fauna are also the major attractions of this place.
Ilam municipality
Ilam municipality is one of the developed municipalities compared to the others municipality. It has 12 wads. The mayor of ilam municipality is Kedar Thapa and Deputy mayor (upamayor) is Bishnu Dahal Limbu. It is one of the four urban municipalities of Ilam. The total area of iIlam municipality is 173.32 square kilometers. The population of Ilam municipality is 48,536 as per the 2011 Nepal census. The Mechi highway connects with the east-west highway. The provisional capital is Biratnagar.
Framework
Ilam bazaar, the main area, was established as the headquarter of Ilam Gauda in 1818(1875 BS) and was declared as Ilam municipality in 1958, but according to the broadsheet to “Nepali Rajpatra” only at 1962 BS. The total area of the municipality. The major places of Ilam municipality are Godak, soyak, sangrumba, Biblate, Barbote, and sumbek. Ilam municipality has now divided into 12 wards.
Ilam Bazar
Ilam bazaar is one of the best tourist destinations for people visiting Nepal for different purposes. It is a magical blend of culture, people, nature, activities, weather, culinary delights, nightlife, and accommodations. It is Highly developed compared to other parts of the district. Ilam bazaar is famous for its tea garden. The tea factory lies in Ilam Bazar only. Sunday and Thursday are the major days when the Bazar is busy where people from various places come for work and shopkeepers bring vegetables to sell. The major schools in Ilam Bazar only are Green Valley Academy, Jubilant Elite Academy, Heritage National Academy, Pragna Sadhan, Montessori School, Samata Shikhya Niketan, Jyoti Sadan, and Jyoti vidya mandir are the private school. In contrast, Adharsa Vishwa Vidyalaya is the government school located in Ilam Bazar .for higher studies there is college like Mahendra Ratna Multiple campuses (bachelors, masters), adharsa higher secondary school(+20) Gov College, Ilam modern campus (+2 and bachelor) and Ilam technical college. A bus park is also situated in the Bazar area. The is a high number of banks (10 to 15) located in the Bazar area compared to other places. The big Hotels are Green view Guest house and Summit Hotel.
Education
Ilam is considered the educational core where students from Taplejung, Panchtar, and Jhapa come for higher studies. Students from Ilam Manglabare, Biblate, Nepaltar, Bhanjyang, Fikkal, Pashupatinagar, Namsaling, and many more places inside Ilam come for higher studies. Several institutes provide secondary, higher secondary, and university-level programs. From playgroup to University, education is provided in this District. Various schools like Green Valley Academy, Prajna Sadhan, Jyoti vidya mandir, Jyoti Sadan, Golden Future English school, Sunrise English school, Everland Academy, and more than 50 schools are providing education in this District. For higher education, the Mahendra Ratna Multiple campuses (The oldest institution of Ilam affiliated with Tribhuwan University), The first campus in Nepal and is well known for its agriculture Science, Education, Humanities, and commerce programs. This campus launched a bachelor in Science program in Horticulture in 2012(2069 BS) AHSS(It provide programs) such as science(Biology and Physics), Commerce and Arts. Ilam Modern Campus (foundation) (for Bachelor BBS, BA, and +2 science and Management) Ilam Technical campus, Heritage National Academy, Karfok vidya mandir Multiple Campus(Affiliated to Purbanchal university proving program like B Ed, BBS, BA). Ratna Kumar Bantawa Polytechnic Institute (which offers programs related to Technical Training and Vocational Training(CTVT), Diploma in Agriculture (Veterinary Science).
Religious Places
The temples, Gumbas, and churches reflect arts, the ideals of dharma, beliefs, values, and the way of life cherished under Hinduism. It is a link between man and deities.
Ilam is well known for its religious importance as well. & 80% of people in this place are Hindu, and the remaining people are Buddhist, Kirat, Islam, and Christain. Many small and big temples have religious value among the people of Ilam. There are many temples, churches, and Gumba in Ilam. There are many holy places like Pathivara Temple, Maisthan, Singhamaini, Gajurmukhi, Maipokhari, Narayanthan Temple, Mabu Tham, Krishana Pranami Temple, Sidda Devi Temple, Seti Devi Temple, Shree tin Kanya mandir, Panchakanya Mandir, Kalika Mandir, Sukilumba Temple, and many more temples. Sanga Cheolying Gumba, Chitra Gumba, Gurung Gumba, Magma Gumba, and many more..Churches are Baptism Church, IFGF Eternity Church, and Jesus Power Church. Zion Church, Jyoti Church, PRasansha Church, and many more.
List Of Tourism Place in Ilam:-
- Ilam Tea Garden
- Bhaludhunga
- Kanyam and Fikkal
- Shreeantu
- Todke Jharna
- Gajurmukhi
- Maipokhari
- Pathivara Temple
- Sandakpur
- Chepti
- Mai Beni
- Siddha Thumka
- Choyatar and Hangetham
- Chhintapu
- Singhamaini
Statistical data of Ilam District
According to the census of 2011, Ilam district had a population of 290,253. Among them, 42.8% speak Nepali, 14.3% Limbu, 8.3%, Bantawa, Rai 8.3%,, Tamang 6.0%, Magar 4.6%, Gurung 2.1%, Newar, Sherpa 1.2%, Chamling 1.0%, Sunuwar 1.0%, Lepcha 0.9%, Kulung 0.6%, Yakkha 0.5%, and Sampang 0.5%.
Climate and Topography
Ilam is in the Northern hemisphere. Summer starts here at the end of June and ends in September. The best time to visit Ilam is April, May, September, and October. The month with the highest relative humidity is July (99.88%). This month with the lowest relative humidity is March (64.42%). The month with the highest number of rainy days is July(28.97days). This month with the lowest number of rainy days in December. The temperature or the climate varies from place to place in Ilam. Pashupatinagar, Fikkal, Kanyam, Santidada, and Manglabare are slightly colder than comparing to other places. It has a humid climate.
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Environmental in Ilam
Ilam is also known as Greenery. It is also called Green Ilam. It is a plastic-free District. Plastics are not given to carry by the municipality. In 2010, the city became the first to ban plastic bags from the market, which is a great success all over Nepal. Ilam municipality is also known for its innovations in environmentalism. Hydroelectricity produces more reliable electricity than is available in the rest of Nepal. There is hydroelectricity in the Ilam districts. In 2021 Ilam was declared one of the top 10 cleanest cities in Nepal.