| Official Name: | Dharan |
| Native Name: | Nepali: धरान उपमहानगरपालिका |
| Settlement Type: | Sub-Metropolitan City |
| Motto: | "To build an environmentally sound city, functioning as the centre of education, health, tourism and business with fully developed infrastructure" |
| Flag Size: | 300px |
| Pushpin Map: | Koshi#Nepal |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Nepal |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Koshi |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Sunsari |
| Established Title: | First Settled |
| Established Date: | 1902 |
| Established Title1: | Established |
| Established Date1: | 1958 |
| Established Title2: | Upgraded to Sub-metropolitan city |
| Established Date2: | 2017 |
| Founder: | Ratna Prasad Shrestha |
| Parts Type: | No. of Wards |
| Parts: | 20 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Harka Raj Rai (Independent) |
| Leader Title1: | Deputy Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Aindra Bikram Begha (Maiost) |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 192.32 |
| Area Water Km2: | 4.4 |
| Area Blank1 Sq Mi: | 108,600 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population Total: | 166,531 |
| Population Rank: | 15th (Nepal) 3rd (Koshi Province) |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
| Population Blank1: | Limbu, Yakkha, Rai, Sunuwar,Bahun, Chhetri, Newars, Tamang, Gurungs |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Nepali |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Additional |
| Demographics1 Info2: | English, Limbu |
| Timezone: | NST |
| Utc Offset: | +5:45 |
| Coordinates: | 26.8167°N 87.2833°W |
| Elevation Max Point: | Near Bhedetar |
| Elevation Max M: | 1778 |
| Elevation Min Point: | at Tarahara |
| Elevation Min M: | 119 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal Code |
| Postal Code: | 56700 (Sunsari), 56702 (Mangalbare) |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Area Code: | 025 |
| Blank Name: | Climate |
| Blank Info: | Cwa |
Dharan (Nepali: धरान) is a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Koshi Province, in eastern Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the third most populous city in eastern Nepal after Biratnagar and Itahari. The Nepali word "dharan" means a saw pit.[1] The rainforest from which the tree trunks came is still just on the edge of the city. Much later the British Gurkha camp opened in October 1960.[2] The use of the camp by British Gurkhas finished in the mid-1990s. Dharan has an estimated city population of 173,096 living in 34,834 households as per the 2021 Nepal census. It is one of the cities of the Greater Birat Development Area which incorporates the cities of Biratnagar-Itahari-Gothgau-Biratchowk-Dharan[3] primarily located on the Koshi Highway in Eastern Nepal, with an estimated total urban agglomerated population of 804,300 people living in 159,332 households.[4] It is the largest city in the province number one by Area. It covers 192.32 square kilometers while Biratnagar and Itahari is 2nd and 3rd biggest cities by Area
Dharan is situated on the foothills of the Mahabharat Range in the north with its southern tip touching the edge of the Terai region at an altitude of 1148 ft (349m). Dharan bazaar grew up near Phusre where the old walking route to Dhankuta and a large part of the Eastern hills left the plains with the ascent of Sanghuri Danra. In the days when villagers in the hills made their annual trek to sell and buy goods this was a natural location for a market where hills and Terai met. In 1952 the construction of the Kosi barrage began and a narrow gauge railway was built to take stone from Phusre loaded at a locality now known as "Railway" to the site of the barrage near the Indian Border.[5] The Koshi highway runs through the heart of the city thus connecting it with the provincial capital of Biratnagar as well as the Itahari junction of the east–west Mahendra highway (lying 41 km and 17 km south, respectively), and the Nepal-China border of Kimathanka (lying 115 km north). The road from Biratnagar was originally built and surfaced in connection with the building of Gopher Camp for the British Gurkhas. The road from Dharan to Dhankuta was financed by the UK and largely completed by 1982.[6]
Dharan was the capital town of lowland Limbuwan kingdom of Morang. It was ruled by Limbu King Buddhi Karna Raya Khebang. King Buddhikarna Khebang was the descendant of the ruler King Muray Hang Khebang of Phedap Kingdom . Since 1584 AD till 1774 AD, Dharan-Bijaypur was the capital city of Morang Kingdom of Limbuwan. It was also effective capital of the entire Limbuwan region or Ten Limbu Kingdoms which was also known as Pallo Kirat . Thus, in August 1774, the Gorkha King Prithivi Narayan Shah's representatives Abhiman Singh Basnet, Parath Bhandari, Kirti Singh Khawas and Bali Baniya met the ministers of Morang state and agreed to come to good terms with the Gorkha Kingdom and accept the Gorkhali king as Maharaja and that in return the kingdom of Gorkha would retain the right of self-government of Limbu rulers in their kingdoms.
City, which is connected with the historical importance of Bijaypur started its development since 1985 BS. Then Prime minister Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana established Chandra nagar (now purano bazaar) and primeminister Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Ranaestablished Juddha nagar (now naya bazaar). City abstracted its name after "Dharan" (nepali word) a rectangular hollow dug under the ground and a low platform upon it for sawing logs with a big saw; one person on the platform and other below it. And, after the establishment of Dharan city, logs used to be widely split uphere in "Dharan".It took its present shape when Bijaypur village panchayat and Ghopa village panchayat were merged into Dharan municipality in 2035 BS.
At the time of the 2011 Census of Nepal, 42.5% of the population in the city spoke Nepali, 10.1% Limbu, 7.4% Newar, 5.9% Rai, 5.9% Tamang, 5.8% Bantawa, and 22.4% spoke other smaller languages as their first language.
The largest single caste/ethnic in Dharan is Rai, who make (19.4%) of the population, Limbu comes to second with (12.7%), Newar makes (11.1%) of population Chhetri (10.7%), Tamang (7.3%), Hill Brahmin (7.1%), Kami (6.2%) and other various ethnic groups makes (25.2%) Of the population.[7]
| Broad Ethnic Category | Sub Category[8] | Linguistic Family | Population Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janajati (Hill Ethnic Groups) | Magar, Tamang, Gurung, Sherpa, Rai, Limbu, Yakkha, Sunuwar etc | 50.5% | ||
| Khas (Hill/Pahari Caste Groups) | 27.8% | |||
| Newar (Kathmandu Valley Caste Groups) | Newari Brahmin, Shrestha, Tamrakar, Newar Buddhist, Maharjan, Rajkarnikar etc | 11.1% | ||
| Madeshi (Terai Caste Groups) | Yadav, Maithil Brahmins, Chamar, Kushwaha, Musahar, Kurmi, Dhanuk etc | 4.5% | ||
| - | 1.4% | |||
| Adibasi (Terai Indigenous Groups) | Tharu, Rajbanshi, etc | 1.3% | ||
| Muslim | - | 1.3% | ||
| Others | - | - | 2.1% |
A study conducted in 2016 to analyze the bacteriological quality of bottled drinking water and that of municipal tap water in Dharan found that one hundred percent of the tap water samples and 87.5% of the bottled water samples were contaminated with heterotrophic bacteria. Of the tap water samples, 55.3% were positive for total coliforms, compared with 25% of the bottled water, but no bottled water samples were positive for fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci, in contrast to 21.1% and 14.5% of the tap water samples being contaminated with fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci, respectively. One hundred percent of the tap water samples and 54.2% of the bottled water samples had pH in the acceptable range.[9]