Dharan is a sub-metropolitan city in Sunsari District of Province No.1, Nepal, which was established as a fourth municipality in the Kingdom in 1958. It is the third most populous city in Easter Nepal after Birtnagar and Itahari. The Nepali word "Dharan" means a saw pit. The rainforest from which the tree trunks came is still just on the edge of the city.
Dharan is the location of the former Vijayapur, the seat of a historical Limbuwan kingdom, which was later used by the Sen kings of Makwanpur. 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).
