Ilam District

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Ilam ( Nepali: इलाम, ILAM ) is one of the 75 districts of Nepal and part of the Management Zone Mechi. It has an area of 1703 km ² and in 2001 had 282 806 inhabitants. The administrative headquarters of the district is the city of Ilam. The district is situated about 600 kilometers east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu and bordering the Nepalese districts Jhapa, Morang and Panchthar and the West Bengal Darjeeling district.

Ilam stretches from the fertile Terai plains to hilly in the foothills of the Himalayas. The highest point of the district is approximately 3000 meters above sea level. The region is frequently visited for its rare species of birds and because of there home pandas by naturalists. The name comes from the Ilam Limbu and means " winding road ".

Ilam is one of the economically most developed regions in Nepal. The tea grown there is also exported as Ilam Tea to Europe. In addition to tea and cardamom, ginger and potatoes are grown in the district as well as produces milk. In religious terms, the Devi temple has a special significance as a place of pilgrimage. A tourist attraction represents the May Pokhari Lake, which is considered the " home of the goddess ".

During the Civil War 1994-2006 Ilam was often in the media, because the Maoists, who led a peasants' revolt against the monarchy, were active in the region.