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Karwar is a city in Karnataka.

Entrance to the holy Sanmudageri Math
Kali river bridge, Karwar
Karwar beach

Get in

By plane

You can fly to Dabolim Airport (GOI IATA) (Goa), 97 km north, and take a taxi or go to Margao. From Margao there are trains and buses to Karwar. Devbagh resort is just 2 ½ hours from there.

The next nearest airports are Belgaum Domestic Airport, 145 km away, and Hubli Domestic Airport, 185 km away.

By train

Karwar is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Cochin and other important places through the Konkan Railway. Most trains stop at Karwar; else one has to alight at Madgaon (Station code : MAO) (Goa) and reach Karwar by road. The journey between Mangalore & Karwar takes not more than 4 hours. Visitors from Chennai can enter via Mangalore. For details, enquire with the railway authorities.

Travelers from Bangalore and Hyderabad should get off at Hubli and proceed by road to Karwar.

By bus

Overnight deluxe bus services are available from Bangalore. Buses also ply between Madgaon and Karwar at regular intervals. There are local buses to Gokarna as well, so you can connect easily if going from Goa to Gokarna or back (but you may have to ask people where is the right bus, as, unlike in Goa, signs on the local buses are generally only in the local language, Kannada). The road between Hubli & Karwar, is one of the best in Karnataka and passes through thick jungle.

Distances to Karwar- 1. Madgaon - 76 km - 2 Hrs 2. Panjim - 108 km- 3 Hrs 3. Vasco-da-gama - 95 km- 3 and half Hrs 4. Hubli - 170- 4 and half Hrs 5. Mangalore - 288km - 6 Hrs 6. Bangalore- 520km- 12 Hrs 7. Mumbai- 855km- 16 Hrs 8. Shimoga - 235 km - 4 and half Hrs 9. Bhatkal - 115km- 3 Hrs

Get around

Auto rickshaw, or car. You can also rent a boat to visit some of the islands. Thats Great being in karwar. For the environment-friendly, Bicycles are also available on Rent basis. Bicycles in the standard non-geared, and now MTBs are also available.

See

Beaches, Islands and mangrove up on the Kali river.

Sadashivgad Sadashivgad is a fort located in Karwar, Uttara Kannada district, in the state of Karnataka in India. 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. The fort was built on an old fortified site on the north bank of Kali River where it meets the sea. It had about 8 meters high ramparts which were about 2 metres wide at the top. There were towers and openings for guns. The citadel was at the highest point. An outwork was on the west, near the sea at the base of the cliff and was appropriately called Pani Killa. There was another outwork on the eastern slope. The citadel had single arched gateway. Samvargad was a very small fort, about 60 metres by 20 metres on top of a hillock east of Sadashivgad. It was a satellite fort guarding the former on its east & north east. Very few ruins remain. The fort was named Sadashivgad by Basavlingraj after his father Sadashivlingraj in 1715. They were chieftains of Sonda who assumed the title of 'Raja' after incorporating Chittakula, Simveshwar (Angadi), Kadra, Kadwad, Ankola and some other parts of Canara. The old Karwar fort was pulled down and its material used to build Sadashivgad. The fort is in ruins as most of it was pulled down by East India Company General Matthews in 1783. A road now runs between it and its satellite fort Samvargad.

Panoramic view of Arabian sea from Sadashivgarh fort, Karwar

Midway on the Sadashivagad hill is the many centuries old Shantadurga Temple, known for its serenity. From the peak of the hill, the view of the sun setting in the Arabian sea, is an experience in itself. The 17th century Dargah also attracts a lot of Muslim pilgrims. At a distance of approximately 2 km northwards a village lies by name Shiveshvar which got Fortress Kot Shiveshvar (mentioned in the Mangalore treaty between Tipu Sultan and the East India Company, as well as in earlier historical accounts) built exclusively for guarding the northern borders of Canara. It was built by the Bijapur Sultanate and subsequently, its fortunes were connected to the Sadashivgad Fort. This fort is in a shambles but the eastern gate, a Muslim graveyard, well and tunnel can still be seen. Another important village is Kadwad situated on the banks of tributary of the Kali River, from which the name 'Karwar' has been derived. At this location the British used to have a factory and it was an important trade port in earlier days. It also had a large Muslim population and a larger mosque which was frequented by traders from Arabia and Africa. The National Highway NH-17 continues on a bridge built over Kali River and the road splits the Sadashivgad granite hill to connect Karnataka to Goa. Sadashivgad used to be a popular word for native konkani speaking people travelling from Mumbai to Karwar before the advent of Konkan Railway. Maharashtra State Transport Corporation buses plying on this route carried the Bus Route Name as Bombay Central - Sadashivgad. Jayshree Gadkar a noted Marathi movie actress and a star of Marathi cinema in the 1960s was born in a Marathi speaking family at Kanasgiri village very close to Sadashivgad.

Tagore Beach

Do

Beautiful beaches, snorkeling, banana boating

Buy

there are small pan stalls, chat stalls, etc.


Eat

Sea Food and some local restaurants, "Gadbad" Icecream.

Some of the famous local restaurants include:

Poornima Restaurant, Main Road, Karwar. (Veg - Moderate expense) Premier Hotel, Green Street , Karwar. (Non-Veg - Expensive) Amruth Bar & Restaurant, Main Road Karwar. (Non-Veg - Moderate) Parvati Fish Land (Non-Veg - Moderate - Fish/Sea Food) Shweta Lunch Home (Non-Veg - Moderate - Fish/Sea Food)

Drink

Tender coconut, Soda Sharbath at local cold drinks shop

Sleep

Devbagh beach resort. Somewhat pricey, but the beach is quite brilliant, as is the nature walk they provide around the resort, through mangrove forests among other things. Don't miss the quicksand!

  • Majali beach village.

Connect

By B.S.N.L mobile network which is widely spread

Go next

  • Kumta - 75 km from here.
  • Honavar - 95 km from here.
  • Gokarna - 75 km from here.
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