ILLAM

Ilam distric is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, The district, with the town of Ilam as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,703 km² and has a population (2001) of 282,806. It is about 600 km from Kathmandu. The highest point is Sandakpur with an elevation of 3000m. Ilam attracts many researchers who come to study rare birds and tea estate. Ilam stretches from the Terai belt to the upper hilly belt of this Himalayan nation.
The name Ilam is derived from the Limbu language in which "Ii" means twisted and "Lam" means road. Ilam was one of the ten self ruling states of Limbuwan before the unification of Nepal, its ruler King Hangshu Phuba Lingdom of Lingdom dynasty ruled Ilam as a confederate state of Limbuwan until 1813 AD. The treaty between the other Limbuwan states and the King of Gorkha (Gorkha-Limbuwan Treaty of 1774 AD) and the conflict of Gorkha and Sikkim led to the unification of Ilam with Gorkha. Ilam was the last of the ten kingdoms of Limbuwan to join the union of Nepal. The King of Gorkha gave the ruler of Ilam full autonomy to rule and the right of Kipat. Ilam was an independent Limbu kingdom until 1813 CE/1869 BS.
Ilam is today famous in the world for tea production. Its ILAM TEA is very famous and is exported to many parts of Europe. The main source of income in this district is tea, cardamom, milk, ginger and potato.
This place also has a religious importance. The devi temples have a great importance attached to them and many people come here just for pilgrimage.
The major attraction of Ilam is the 9-cornered Mai Pokhari lake. Also known as the abode of the goddess lots of tourists as well as Nepalese people come to visit this lake. Mai river and its four tributaries also emerge in Ilam district. The famous Mane Bhanjyang (Mane pass) connects Ilam with Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India.
This region is famous for the tea plantation in Nepal, perhaps in the world as Ilam Tea. Though the tea plantation was practised in Ilam about 138 years ago for the first time, the tea plantation revolution has started 10/15 years before only.
Ilam Valley Tea, the finest quality orthodox tea, is produced by one of the most modern factory Himalayan Shangri-la Tea Producers (p) Ltd., a subsidiary of New Ilam Tea Industries (P) Ltd., one of the pioneers of high quality orthodox tea packers & exporters in Nepal with over 30 years of experience in the tea industry.
The factory was established in the year 1999 and is situated at Nepaltar on the top of Mahabharat range, 18km. inside on the highway to Taplejung from Ilam town. It is a central factory and the green leaves are collected from the small scale farmers in the region where, more than six hundred small tea growers are involved on a day to day basis.
Since, the ecology, climate altitude and the virgin fertile soil of this region is very suitable for high quality orthodox tea and the green leaves are plucked from the very young and healthy bushes at an altitude of 5000ft. Shangri-la Tea producers (p) Ltd., producers the best quality Ilam Valley Tea that gives mellow, pure natural flavour and fascinating character.
Ilam, the divinely bestowed upon the nature is situated in the far eastern region of the beautiful HimalayanKingdom, Nepal. This picturesque region lies at the bottom of Mt. Kanchanjunga, the third highest peak of the world and is fully covered by structure, virgin fertile soil, diverse climate and its own arts and unique style. The people are friendly and hospitable.

Geography and climate

Climate Zone	Elevation Range	% of Area
Lower Tropical	below 300 meters (1,000 ft)	15.5%
Upper Tropical	300 to 1,000 meters 1,000 to 3,300 ft.	33.5%
Subtropical	1,000 to 2,000 meters 3,300 to 6,600 ft.	40.1%
Temperate	2,000 to 3,000 meters 6,400 to 9,800 ft.	10.6%
Subalpine	3,000 to 4,000 meters 9,800 to 13,100 ft.	0.3%