Surguja district is a district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The district is one of the oldest districts of Chhattisgarh. The headquarters of the district is Ambikapur. The district lies in its eponymous Surguja dialectal region (where Surgujia is spoken) and is to the east of the Vindhyachal-Baghelkhand region of peninsular India. The district spread over a vast mountainous area inhabited by many different people groups such as the Gond, Bhumij, Oraon, Panika, Korwa, Bhuiya, Kharwar, Munda, Chero, Rajwar, Nagesia, Kanwar and Santal. Surguja State According to legend, Lord Rama had visited Surguja during his 14 years of exile into the forests. There are many places in connection to epic of Ramayana, which are named after Lord Rama, Laxmana and Goddess Sita such as Ramgarh, Sita-Bhengra and Laxmangarh. Prior to the arrival of the Mauryas, the area was ruled by the Nandas. In the third century BC the region was divided into tiny kingdoms. In 1613, a Rajput king belonging to the Rakshal clan attacked from Palamu in what is now Jharkhand, and took control of the area. In 1753, the Marathas invaded Surguja and forced the king to become a vassal. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the British gained control of the three princely states of Surguja, Koriya and Changbhakar. In 1820, Amar Singh was crowned as Maharaja. During the British Raj period, Surguja State was a princely state. In 1951, Surguja became part of the new state of Madhya Pradesh. In 2000, it was one of the districts in the new state of Chhattisgarh. It lies between 23°37'25" to 24°6'17" north latitude and 81°34'40" to 84°4'40" east longitude. long east to west and broad north to south, this land has as area of about . The high-lands of Surguja district have peculiar 'pat formations' – highlands with small tablelands. The Mainpat, the Jarang pat, the Jonka pat, the Jamira pat and the Lahsunpat are the major parts of the district. The average height of area is above . Some of the peaks are Mailan , Jam , Parta Gharsa , Kanda Dara , Chutai , and Karo .