North Dinajpur is bounded by Bangladesh in the east,
Bihar in the west, the districts of
Darjeeling and
Jalpaiguri in the north, and
Malda District in the south. The district occupies an area of 3,142 sq km and has a population of around 2.5 million. The headquarters is
Raiganj. Bengali is the main language used while
Hindi and
Urdu are also spoken in some areas.
The main rivers are the Kulik, Nagar, and Mahananda. The region receives excellent rainfall. The soil and climate help the cultivation of paddy, jute, mesta, and sugarcane. There are five large and medium scale industries and more than a thousand small scale units.
The Raiganj bird sanctuary is an important tourist destination. Migratory birds such as
open billed stork, night heron, cormorant, and egrets are commonly found. Some of the major tourist spots include temple of Goddess Bhairabi at Bindole, mosque of Burhana fakirs, temple of Goddess Kali at Baira, and museum at Karnajora.
