The propagation of solitary waves in dilatant granular materials is studied using the hierarchical Korteweg-de Vries type evolution equation. The model equation is solved numerically under localized initial conditions by the pseudospectral method. The behaviour of the solution is analysed over a wide range of material parameters (two dispersion parameters and one microstructure parameter). Five solution types are introduced. Special attention is paid to the solitonic character of solutions.