Saiha Town is the third capital district of the state. It is located at the south-eastern part of Mizoram. It is bounded to the North and West by Lawngtlai district, and on the south and east by Myanmar. The total geographical rea is 1965.82 sq.km which accounts for more than 6.64% of the total geographical area of the state (Source : Statistical Hand Book, 2003).

Historical genesis of the district
The habitant of Saiha District District are commonly called the "Mara" or the "Lakher" and hence the land named "Maraland". Maraland, formerly known as Lakher land is a hilly region situated in the southernmost part of the North East India, and in the extreme south east corner of Mizoram. Right after the second world war has ended in early 1945, the Mara's had demanded to have a seperate district which is equivalent to Union Territory or State at that time. However, the desire of the people was fulfilled only after India got Independence from the British in 1947. Thus, in April 23rd 1953, the Mara's and the Pawi's came together under a joint Regional Council called "Pawi-Lakher" Regional Council with an agreement to share the joint leadership.\

However after twenty years, due to cultural and language differences the council was dissolved in 2nd April, 1972, and consequently resulted the birth of three(3) seperate Autonomous District Council, one of them being "The Mara Autonomous District Council".

The Mara Autonomous District Council has a yearly budget of Rs. 1,000 lakhs, with more than 1,000 office staff at present. Most of the development work and maintenance of the towns and villages in Maraland are under the responsibility of the Council. Thus, the Maras have a special privileged to shape up and build their own land with the help that they received from the Mizoram State and the Government of India.

Major rivers of the District
Saiha district has a number of small rivers. However the major rivers are the Kolodine(Beino) , Pala, Tisih, Pitlao, Ka-aw, Salyu and Polyue, out of which the Kolodine is the biggest and most important river. The Kolodine river starts from Myanmar towards the Northern direction and then turns in the southern ditection before entering Myanmar again.
The Tisih river runs in the middle part of Maraland and flows towards southern direction. Salyu river runs in the middle part of Maraland and flows towards southern direction. Salyu river is rich in fertile river valleys and is found in the southern part of Maraland and the Polyu river is in the south western part and run towards the western direction. Beside these rivers, Saiha district is intrested with numerable streamlets and brooks.

Climate
Saiha district has varying conditions. As a whole, it enjoys a moderate climate owing to its tropical locations. It is neither very hot nor too cold throughout the year and falls under the direct influence of the south west monsoon. Thus, the area receives an adequate rainfall with short winter and long summer season.Depending on the varation in temperature and general weather conditions, four different seasons are observed. They are as follows:
The Cold or Winter season :- The season starts from the second half of march till the first half of October. Heavy outpour generally starts from second quarter of April. Rainfall during May, June, August and September alone contributes 80% of the total annual rainfall.Autumn season:- Generally covers the second part of October to November. Minimum rainfall is received during the season.

Temperature
Although the Temperature data for Saiha district could not be tabulated due to unavailability for the area, generally the intensity of temperature is usually high during the month of April to June.
During summer the temperature could rise to a maximum of 240 C and minimum of 190 C, while in winter it has a maximum of 240 C and a minimum of 40 C. Rainfall
The average rainfall for Saiha is 260 mm per annum and the highest rainfall during a particular month was 1032 mm recorded in july, 2002.

Land use/Land Cover
The major land use/land cover area within the district can be broadly categorized into built-up land, agricultural land, forest, bamboo foreat, forest plantations, shifting cultivation, scrubland and river/water body. Soil type of Saiha District
The rock of this area are generally sandstone and shale, the derived soils are mostly red and yellow loamy. The soil is acidic in nature due to heavy rainfall, containing high amount of organic carbon, nitrogen, and low in phosphorous and potassium. On the basis of rainfall and humidity, the soil moisture require is classified as udic.