The district headquarters is Dehradun, which has also served as the interim capital of Uttarakhand since its founding in 2000.

[1] Dehradun district also includes the prominent towns of Rishikesh, Mussoorie, Landour and Chakrata.

During the days of British Raj, the official name of the district was Dehra Dun.

Basmati rice, tea and litchi orchards are some of the major agricultural crops.

It is mentioned in the Ramayana that Lord Rama, along with brother Lakshmana, came to the area after defeating Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka.

Ancient temples, statues and archaeological remains have been found at the sites in and around the area that are mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The Pandavas held influence over the region after the battle of the Mahabharata and the area was ruled by the descendants of Subahu as administrators under the Kuru Kingdom at Hastinapura.

He founded his own Udasi Panth (sect) and received support from Aurangzeb.

[3][4] In 1548, two prominent Chhokar Goojur (Gurjar)chieftains, Phoda Singh and Lal Karan, from the Titron region in Saharanpur district, crossed the Sivalik hills, conquered the entire Dehradun area, and established the Timli state.

He had the status of a magistrate and he used to fix the prices of agricultural products of north india[7] When the British Raj entered this area under the Arazi-i-Bandobasti land settlement, they took control of the area around Dehradun, while the rest of the state remained under local rule.

[10][11] [needs update]As of the 2011 Census of India, Dehradun district has highest population (1,698,560) in Uttarakhand.

[1] Languages of Dehradun district (2011)[17] At the 2011 census, 60% of the district's population identified their first language as Hindi, 17% reported being speakers of Garhwali, 7.4% opted for Jaunsari, 3.8% chose Urdu, 3.4% – Punjabi, 3.3% – Nepali, 1.1% – Kumaoni, 0.87% – Bhojpuri, 0.58% – Tibetan, and 0.55% – Bengali.

Blue buses (privately owned and operated) in addition to 3 wheelers are the main mode of transport in the city.