Dharwad (Kannada pronunciation: [ðärwäɖ] ⓘ), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the northwestern part of the Indian state of Karnataka.

It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi.

For centuries, Dharwad acted as a resting place for travelers and a gateway between the Malenadu (western mountains) and the Bayalu Seeme (plains).

In the 14th century, the district was first overrun by the Bahmani Sultanate, after which it was annexed to the newly established Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, an official of which named "Dharav", according to local tradition, built the fort at Dharwad town in 1403.

With this fort, the strategic importance of Dharwad increased and it attracted the attention of subsequent conquerors, including Aurangzeb, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb's son Bahadur Shah I, Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and finally the British colonizers.

During the early 19th century, when the British were expanding their domains, they faced a lot of opposition from local rulers, including Baba Saheb of Nargund and Kittur Chennamma.

Dharwad Region's Cultural Life blossomed with some of the finest Poets, Writers, and Thinkers at the beginning 20th century.

[13] Dharwad city is known for karnatic music, art, culture, musicians, poets, writers and cuisine.

[14] Dharwad has nurtured some of the best writers in Kannada, and has many iconic places that bear an association with the Language and State’s Culture.

Places such as Sadhankeri in front of Varakavi D R Bendre’s house is that serene location from which the poet drew inspiration to write his poems.

Dharwad peda is a sweet delicacy prepared of milk and sugar which has been accorded Geographical Indication.

There has been a huge demand by the people of Dharwad to create a separate civic body and get itself detached by HDMC.

[21][22] Hubballi-Dharwad BRTS (also known as HDBRTS) is a bus rapid transit system built to serve the twin cities of Hubli and Dharwad, located in the North-Western part of Karnataka state in India.

Hubli-Dharwad BRTS (HDBRTS) project is a Government of Karnataka initiative to foster long-term economic growth in the region.

The project promotes fast, safe, comfortable, convenient and affordable public transportation between the twin cities and aims to reduce congestion and air pollution in the region.

Many don't approve the project, as BRTS system has failed in many cities across India, for example both in Pune and Delhi.

The length of the Hubli-Dharwad BRTS corridor is 22.25 km (13.83 mi) from CBT Hubli to CBT–Dharwad with the width of the cross-sections ranging from 44 to 35 m (144 to 115 ft).

The BRTS corridor includes segregated bus lanes, access-controlled bus stations, physical and fare integration with BRT feeder services, off-board ticketing through smart cards and bar-coded paper tickets, an intelligent transport system and high-quality buses (Standard AC buses).

[25][26] Mangaluru Samachar was the first ever Kannada language newspaper distributed in Dharwad, along with region of North Canara.