Ukhrul District is located in the north of the Manipur State and it is a hill district of the state with full of scenic beauty. District is home of colourful Tangkhul people and Tangkhuls are the dominant tribe and other tribe like Kuki are also included in very low number.
Ukhrul District, the land of the colourful Tangkhuls was marked out first as a Sub-Division in 1919 during the British Raj. Then in November 1969 it was upgraded to a full-fledged district, bearing the nomenclature of Manipur East District. The area of the district was 8,200 Sq.Km. according to the CSI Publication 1976.
Later Tengnoupal District, now called Chandel District was carved out from this district on 15th July, 1983 and the area of the then Manipur East District was sliced down to 4,544 Sq.Km. and the title of the district was changed into Ukhrul District in 1983. Again Kamjong District was curved out from the District area on 8th December 2016 making present District.
Ukhrul District is bounded by Myanmar in the East, Kamjong District in the South, Kangpokpi and Senapati Districts in the West and Nagaland State in the North. The terrain of the district is hilly with a varying heights of 913 m to 3114 m (MSL). Ukhrul district HQ is linked with Imphal, the state capital, by a NH 150 with about 84 Km in length. By ordinary passenger bus, it may take about 3 hours to reach there from Imphal.
The climate of the district is of temperate nature with a minimum and maximum degrees of 3º C to 33° C. The average annual rainfall is 1,763.7 mm (1991).
The exact location of the district (including Kamjong district) in the globe is 240 N – 25.410 N and 940 E – 94.470 E. The rainy season in the district is from May to beginning of October broadly but Winter is chilly.The highest peak in the region is the Khayang peak-3114 m (MSL), though the more popularly known peak is the Shirui Kashung Peak – 2,835 m (MSL). Altitude of Ukhrul District HQ is 2,020 m (MSL). Most of the major rivers originate from the crevices and slopes of this Shirui Peak. The terrain of the district is rippled with small ranges and striped by few rivers.