DANDELI is a taluk headquarter town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. It is in the western Ghat section of the State. The town is situated on river Kali which has taken its birth at Diggi in Joida taluk and join the Arabian sea at Karwar, which is the district head quarter 120 km from Dandeli. Dharwad the neighbouring district headquarters is 55 km from Dandeli. Kali is the only river in the State which flows only in the district. The West-Coast Paper Mill set up in 1955 is the only paper industry survived today in the State. The Western Ghat section is the richest geographical feature with its unique flora and fauna. The forest area is rich in medicinal plants and four types of hornbill a rare bird found in India.
Dharwad is the nearest district headquarters 55 Km and Hubli 77 Km from Dandeli is nearest airport town. Dandeli is well connected by road and railway station. Alnavar is the nearest railway station connecting Bangalore and Pune with rest of the country. The population of the town is about 56,000 according to 2011 census. Because of paper industry people from different states are found in the paper town.
They are mainly from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Hence languages like Hindi, Marathi, Konkani, Telagu, Gujarati, Rajasthani are spoken fluently along with Kannada the regional language of the State. Educational institutions from primary, secondary, junior colleges, nourishing college and National Academy For Skill Development of Visvesvaraya Technological University have made the town as an important educational centre in the district. In recent days Dandeli occupies an important place in the map of tourism of India.
Many resorts and home stays and beautiful natural scenes are attracting tourists from the State and South India. A teak wood grown in the western ghat is also known as Dandeli teak which is of best quality wood. It is widely used in the manufacture of furniture and other household materials.