The city is situated in the northwestern parts of Karnataka and lies at the border of two states, Maharashtra and Goa on the western ghats (50 km from Goa state border). It is one of the oldest towns in the state, lying at a distance of 502 km from Bangalore, 515 km from Hyderabad and 500 km from Mumbai. The district comprises 1278 villages with an area of 13,415 km² with a population of around 48 lakhs or 4.8 million (47,78,439) according to the census of 2011. Belgaum district is presently the biggest district of Karnataka. Situated near the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range (Western Ghats) at an altitude of about 779m, 100 km from the Arabian Sea with the river Markandeya flowing nearby, Belgaum exhibits swift and kaleidoscopic changes in topography, vegetation and climate
