Covered with dense sal forests rich in widlife and long range of hills Dhenkanal district is one of the important districts of the eastern state of India , Orissa. The district derives its name from the tribal chief Dhenka who previously ruled this place. It is surrounded by Keonjhar in the north, Jajpur in the east, Cuttack in the south and Angul in the west. Located between 20° 29` to 21° 11` North latitude and :85° 58` to 86° 2` East longitude it covers an area of 4599.5 sq.km. and has a population of 1,087,973 inhabitants. The climate is sub humid and has an average annual rainfall of 170 cm.

Dhenkanal district is one of the developing regions of the state . Although agriculture is the main occupation of the people in the district some of the important industries of the state is located here. Nilachal factories and Utkal Asbestos are some of the notable industries. Dhenkanal has a flourishing economy owing to the abundant source of forest products like timber, bamboo, firewood and kendu leaf. The district is fertile and soil variety ranges from alluvial soil, sandy loan soil, cleaving loan soil and gravel soil.

The district is a temples paradise as it houses some of the famous temples of Orissa. The Lord Balaram Temple of Dhenkanal was built in 1700 A.D. The majestic Joranda, Kapilas, Kualo, Ladagarh, Ramail, Saptasajya and Saranga are some of the visiting places of the Dhenkanal district. The Kapilas range houses the hill top shrine of Lord Chandrasekhar Shiva and Joranda 24 km from Dhenkanal is the religious headquarters of Mahima cult. 11 km. south east of Dhenkanal is Saptasajya, an exciting tourist destination. Tikarpara on the deep Satkosia gorge of Mahanadi River located 120 km. from Dhenkanal has a gharial Sanctuary.