Karwar

Karwar is the capital of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, a seaside town and situated on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent. The town lies about 15 kilometres south of the Karnataka-Goa border.



Karwar is the district and the taluka head quarters of Uttara Kannada, which lies 520 km north-west of Bangalore. Karwar, is a good place to enjoy the thrills of sun, sea and sand & thus becomes an ideal place to relax. Karwar has sacred pilgrim centers, historical towns and some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Its beauty is said to have inspired the great Indian poet and Nobel Prize Winner, Rabindranath Tagore to pen his first play. The Devbagh Beach, is a must for the beach lovers. Karwar is also a place of historical importance. The place name Karwar is a misnomer. It is named after Kadwad (the British had trouble pronouncing "d" and replaced it with "r", maybe), actually a far off village & the English factory at Kadwad had its opening to the sea from the point where Karwar town now stands, to the south of Kali river. Karwar town was entirely a new settlement, which reflects in the parallel and perpendicular and broad roads, envisaged by the British. These roads have now been developed to their full width (some of them are 100 feet (30 m) wide), under the Asian Development Bank-aided urban development project. The earlier Deputy Commissioners of Karwar, Mr. Rakesh Singh, IAS and Mr. Ritesh Kumar Singh, IAS had taken great interest in its implementation. The current Deputy Commissioner has capped it by removing many encroachments in the town, particularly on the 100-foot (30 m) wide roads such as Green Street (which was earlier called Grease Street, jocularly), Dr. Pikle Road, Civil Court Road, Dr. Kamlakar Road, etc., Many buildings of historical value stand here, such as the District Court of the 1800s, the District Judge's and Deputy Collector's bungalows, etc. Karwar used to be written as "Caurwaar" earlier. Lying just 20 km from southern border of Goa, this place offers many other attractions such as the Sadashivgad Hill Fort with a Durga temple, the one-of-its kind octagonal church and the 300 year old Venkataramana temple with some fine ochre paintings. The Dandeli Game park located 157 km away is a treat for wildlife lovers.

Konkan Marathas, Bhandharis, Kombarpaiks, Kharvis/Harikantras, Halakki Vokkaligas, Kunbis, Padthis, etc., are the natives of Karwar, Konkani,Marathi,Kannada languages are the base of communication.Ram kashtriyas, Daivajna Brahmins, Gaud Sawaswat Brahmins, Havyak Brahmins,Vaishya Vanis etc., are spread over Karwar taluka.

Partly due to the presence of the British, who had a major presence in this City and by virtue of being next to the then Portuguese-controlled Goa state, Christianity has been in existence here since the 18th Century, majority of the Christians here being converts who fled the Portuguese Inquisition, which demanded complete severance from the native rituals practised by the converts.

Muslims, mainly forming part of the trading community, have come down from the Deccan (Bahamani) kingdoms to Karwar, and are known sea-farers. It is due to Muslim influence that the Karwar port is known as "Baithkol" meaning the House of Safety, or Place of Safety, "Bait-e-kol", in Arabic.

History of Karwar
The British made this place their district headquarters in 1862. Karwar was an ancient site of sea trade visited by the Arabs, Dutch, Portuguese, French & later the British. Therefore many place names in the area have undergone considerable change. For instance, Baithkhol is an Arabic term, Bait el- Khol meaning bay of safety. Ibn battuta passed through this tract. Commodities of export to foreign countries were brought from Deccan by routes, which passed through this tract for several centuries. Karwar is the safest port to the south of Bombay fit for use during all seasons. The port is a hill projecting into the sea called Karwar head full of flora five islands, Anjidiv, Kudumgad, Dev gad, Mogral and Shamshigudda protecting the port from heavy winds.

Geography

Karwar is a small town containing relatively undiscovered beaches and placed snugly on the coast. It's a calming sight anywhere, but in Karwar the sunrise is especially beautiful for the topography it unveils. On one side of the road is the dim outline of the narrow coast hugging the sea, while the dark shapes of the Western Ghats loom across the other. Miraculously straddling both mountain and sea, Karwar is a nondescript little town perched in between, seemingly oblivious to its own overwhelming beauty.

Since it is sandwiched between the sea on one side and Western Ghats on the other, Karwar is rich in flora and fauna. The monsoons last long and it rains heavily, the climate and sea beaches are similar to Goa, but is ignored in terms of tourism. Konkani, Marathi is widely spoken here.Many others also speak Tulu.

A bay near Binaga has a new naval base for the Indian Navy called INS Kadamba, as part of Project Seabird. Thus, its beautiful beaches like the Casurina Beach (at Binaga) now christened as Kamat Bay by the navy and the Arga Beach are now transformed with shore infrastructure built by the Indian Navy and are out of bounds for the common man. However the navy opens its portals for one and all during the navy week in Dec and for educational institutions and groups visiting the base. The idyllic Anjadiv island is also occupied by the Indian Navy. This island has a history of Portuguese occupation and has an old church and ruins of Portuguese settlements. Karwar is also the site of a nuclear reactor Kaiga.

Karwar has a number of beautiful beaches and its idyllic beauty inspired the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore to pen his first play.

Uttara Karnataka district is one of the most beautiful places in India, which has nearly 68 different waterfalls, many beaches, islands and thick green forests.

The enterprising locals have migrated to other places,to lead a life of full and plenty,negligence of the politicians due to the language and border dispute,has hampered the growth of coastal city.

Beautiful places in Karwar include:

  • Karwar beach,
  • Devbagh beach,
  • Kurumgad island,
  • Kodasall,
  • Binaga beach,
  • Tilmatti beach,
  • Majali beach,
  • Guddahalli Peak,
  • Hyder Ghat Pass,
  • Shirve Ghat
  • Devkar falls,
  • Anshi National Park,
  • Durga Devi Temple,
  • Naganath Temple,
  • Shahkaramuddin Dargah,
  • Chaitanya park,
  • Jamba,
  • Sadashivgadh Maratha Fort,
  • St. Joseph's High School,
  • High Church,
  • Maruti Temple, Kali bridge,
  • Chendia falls - Nagarmadi falls
  • Habbu Mountain
  • Shri Kshetra Gurumath ,Baad


Sadashivgad Fort

Sadashivgad is a fort located in Karwar, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. Significant and picturesque, the fort is now a popular tourist destination located by the Kali river bridge, which has been built at the confluence of the river and the Arabian Sea. Konkani is spoken as a local language.

Hotels, Boarding, Lodging & Accomodation in Karwar

Karwar to Honnavar Trains

Distance from Karwar to Honnavar, Karnataka by road is 92.6 km and travelling time is around 1 h 55 min via NH66. By rail the distance is around 96.5 Km and takes around 1 Hr 15 Mins to 2 Hrs. There are 8 Trains running between Honnavar and Karwar.

TrainDepartureArrivalFrequency
12619 Matsyagandha Express
Lokmanya Tilak Terminus to Mangalore Central
02:32 03:42S M T W T F S
16516 Mangalore - Yesvantpur Express
Karwar to Yesvantpur Junction
05:30 06:26
70105 Madgaon - Mangaluru DEMU
Madgaon to Mangalore Central
05:58 07:06
22629 Dadar Tirunelveli Express
Dadar (Central) to Tirunelveli Junction
07:32 08:20Fr
16337 Okha - Ernakulam Express
Okha to Ernakulam Junction
08:52 09:53Mn, St
16524 Karwar - Yesvantpur Express
Karwar to Mangalore Central
14:40 15:47S M T W T F S
56641 Madgaon - Mangalore Passenger
Madgaon to Mangalore Central
14:58 16:10S M T W T F S
11097 Poorna Express
Pune Junction to Ernakulam Junction
18:10 19:30St

Chendia falls

Chendia falls (Nagarmadi falls) is a small waterfall at a distance of 2 km from Chendia and 12 km from Karwar, located in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. Nagarmadi fall passes underneath a huge rock. This is a very unique waterfall falling from just 10ft height and it creates a big cave. There is a pool at the bottom of the falls where tourists can enjoy swimming. Chendia village can be reached by bus from Karwar. Motorable road is available for further 1 km which can be reached by own/private vehicles. From here one has to trek about 1 km to reach Chendia falls.