The Kupwara district, carved out from erstwhile District Baramulla in 1979, is located to extreme north of Jammu and Kashmir. It is almost 110 kms away from Srinagar city. It is located at an altitude of 5300 ft approx. Kupwara district is located between Pir Pancha lands Shams Bari mountain ranges. These mountain ranges have beautiful meadows and pastures in their bosom which provide grazing ground for cattle and sheep. These mountain ranges are traversed by famous passes like Sadhna pass, Farkiyan Gali and Nagmarg Pass. These passes open into beautiful valleys of Karnah, Keran and Drawa areas.
Out of total geographical area of 2379 sq kms, almost three-fourth is under intense forest cover. It has best of conifer forests with Deodar, Pine and Fir as main species. These forests are situated all along the Shams Bari mountain range barricading the valley in the north. According to census 2011, the total population of Kupwara is 8.70 lakh of which 87% lives in the rural areas. The literacy rate stood at 65.51% in 2011 which is expected to increase significantly in the next Census.
The District is bound by 170 Km line of actual control (L.O.C.) in the North while the southern portion is bound by District Baramulla. Thera are three border pocket area, namely, Machil, Keran and Karnah located near L.O.C. which remain cut off from Valley floor for over 4 months owing to intense snowfall on the high altitude Border Passes connecting these areas. There are some areas located at large distances and remain cut off from District Headquarter for a considerable time, like Kumkadi, Lashdat, Jumgund, kethanwal and Budnambal.
The frontier District of Kashmir Valley is full of scenic beauty. Dense forests and rich wild life make it significant from tourism and wildlife point of view. Full of natural picturesque, scenic beauty it is endowed with rich dense magical forest, unique wild life, numerous unspoilt meadows, snowy landscapes, gushing waters, glittering springs, numerous perennial tributaries flowing from magnificent mountains, hospitable locals and other countries attractions that make this frontier district truly unique.
Rivers like Pohru, Mawar, Batmooji and Kishan Ganga having various varieties of fish like, Brown trout, Rainbow trout, Snow trout, Shuddgrun and Anyour, traverse the landscape of District Kupwara like a pearl of strings.
A vast chunk of 68,500 hectares of land is under Agriculture and Horticulture plantations in the district. Also known as the ‘Walnut District’, it produces over 50,000 tonnes of Walnut annually in addition to contributing almost 3 lakh tonnes of Apples every Year.
District kupwara is blessed with the beautiful Bangus and Lolab Valley.
Allama Sir Mohammad Iqbal has also described the Lolab valley as :
پاني ترے چشموں کا تڑپتا ہوا سيماب
مرغان سحر تيري فضاؤں ميں ہيں بيتاب
اے وادي لولاب اے واديلولاب
The tormented mercury of watery springs
Birds of a feather flock together
O valley of Lolab, O valley of Lolab