Uttara Kannada , also known as North Canara or North Kanara, is a district in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Belgaum District to the north, Dharwad District and Haveri District to the east, Shimoga District and Udupi District to the south and the Arabian Sea to the west. The town of Karwar is the administrative headquarters of the district. This is also known as “ District of Water falls”. It is heaven for tourists. This district has Coastal areas, Malenadu and Bayaluseeme.

History

Uttara Kannada was the home of the Kadamba kingdom from the 350 - 525CE. They ruled from Banavasi. After the subjugation of the Kadambas by the Chalukyas, Uttara Kannada district came under successive rule of empires like Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagar empire.

Famous Arab traveler Ibn Battuta is said to have stayed for a time in the district under the protection of Nawayath Sultan Jamal al-Din at Hunnur. This place is presently known as Hosapattana and is located in the Honnavar taluka. Ruins of an old mosque and its minaret can still be seen in the village.

The district came under the rule of Maratha empire from around 1700 CE. to 1800 CE. It was ceded to the British at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818. The British established North Kanara district as a part of the Bombay Presidency. After India's independence in 1947, Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as Bombay state. In 1956 the southern portion of Bombay state was added to Mysore state, which was renamed Karnataka in 1972.

Geography

The main geographic feature of the district is the Western Ghats or Sahyadri range, which runs from north to south through the district. Between the Sahyadris and the sea is a narrow coastal strip, known as the Payanghat, which varies from 8 to 24 km in width. Behind the coastal plain are flat-topped hills from 60 to 100 meters in height, and behind the hills are the ridges and peaks of the Sahyadris. East of the Sahyadris is the Balaghat upland, part of the vast Deccan plateau.

Moisture-bearing winds come from the west, and yearly rainfall averages 3000 mm on the coast, and as high as 5000 mm on the west-facing slopes of the Sahyadris. East of the crest is the rain shadow of the Sahyadris, which receive as little as 1000 mm annually. Much of the rain falls in the June-September monsoon.

Four principal rivers drain westwards from the crest of the Sahyadris to the sea; from north to south they are the Kali, Gungawali, Aghanashini and Sharavati. These rivers form numerous waterfalls, the most famous of which is Jog falls, on upper reaches of the Sharavati in neighboring Shimoga district. Other famous waterfalls include Unchalli Falls, where the river Aghanashini drops 116 meters, Magod Falls, where the Bedti river plunges 180 meters in two leaps, Shivganga falls, where the river Sonda(Shalmali) drops 74 meters, and Lalguli falls and Mailmane falls on the river Kali. In the lowlands, these rivers form wide estuaries, extending several kilometers inland from the coast.

People and the culture

The languages of the district are Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Tulu and Urdu. The population is predominantly Hindu comprising of many communities called as Bhandaris, Havyaka, Konkan Maratha Havyaka, Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Daivajna Brahmins, Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, Vokkaligas, Sherugars, Namadhari naik, Nadavara and Vaishya (Vanis).

Muslims in the district are mainly of Nawayath descent. They live mostly in taluks of Bhatkal and Honnavar and speak Nawayathi. The Konkani speaking people include Christians also.

Ecology

The district's high rainfall supports lush forests, which cover approximately 70% of the district. The North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests cover the Sahyadris below 1000 meters elevation. Many trees shed leaves in the drier months. In pockets above 1000 meters elevation lie the evergreen North Western Ghats montane rain forests. Anshi National Park near Dandeli, preserves approximately 250 km² of semi-evergreen forest, which is home to the tiger, black panther, leopard cat, gaur, Asian Elephant, sambar and a range of birds and reptiles. Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary protects 834 km² of semi-evergreen and bamboo forest in the watershed of the Kali river and its tributaries, the Kaneri and Nagajhari. The Wroughton free tailed bat is endemic to the forests of Bhimgad, a proposed wild life sanctuary.

The district is also home to patches of savanna and degraded scrub jungles, which are often the result of overuse for logging or grazing. Much of the lowland has been cleared for agriculture. Mangrove forests can be found in the river estuaries, and the sandy beaches are home to groves of Calophyllum inophyllum, coconut and screw pine (Pandanus spp.). The rocky beaches at Binaga, Arga, Belekeri, Tadadi, Ankola Keni, Kadle, Kumta, Dhareshwar, Kasarkod, Murdeshwar, Bhatkal and Belke of the district are rich with marine fauna diversity. The rocky beaches of Uttara Kannada District harbours the invertebrates belonging to the Phylum Porifera, Coelenterata, Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca and Echinodermata.

Attiveri bird sanctuary is home to 79 species of birds including migratory birds from 22 countries. Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for the elusive black panther among other animals like Gaur, Tiger and Leopards. The Kavala caves with their 5 ft. high natural Shiva linga, Synthery rocks is a 500 ft high rock flanked by natural caves and waterfalls, Vincholi rapids, Sykes point which offers a view of Kali river, and a suspension bridge are places worth visiting in this sanctuary. Yana is an enchanting place that can be reached by trekking about 10 km through lush forest. Yana is famous for its tall jagged rock formations and waterfalls. There is also a shrine of Bhairaveshvara here. Anshi National Park located some distance from Dandeli is undisturbed. Burude Falls is about 20 km from Siddapur , Unchalli Falls, Shivagangae, BeeneHolae Falls is about 25 km from Sirsi, Magod Falls and Sathodi Falls near Yellapura are some of the best natural falls in Uttara Kannada District. There are many dams in this district namely Supa Dam,Kodasalli Dam

and Kadra Dam. The famous Atomic energy station at Kaiga is on the beautiful banks of river Kali.

Agriculture

The chief crops of the district are rice and sugarcane, along with a great diversity of other crops. Tree crops include coconut, arecanut, cocoa, cashew, mango, banana, pineapple, Garcinia, and sapota; vegetables include onion, radish, cucumber, cauliflower, sweet potato, brinjal, and amaranth; spices include pepper, cardamom, ginger and nutmeg. Millet and cotton are grown in the drier portion of the district east of the Western Ghats.

Temples and Dargahs

Uttara Kannada district is famous for its Jain Basadis, Vijayanagar and Nayaka architecture. The Chaturmukha Basadi, Vardhamanaswamy Temple, Parshwanatheshwara Basadi at Gerusoppa, Chandranath Deva Basadi and 24 tirthankara's basadi at Hadavalli or Sangitapura , erotic sculptures of temples of Bhatkal are well known. The Aryadurga Temple at Ankola, Partagaali Jivottam Mutt and Mahabaleshvara temple at Gokarna which is an important place of Vedic studies, Mahalasa Narayani Temple at Kumta, Ventakaraman Temple Honnavar and Chitrapur Mutt, Mahaganapati Mahamaya Temple at Shirali and the Madhukeshvara and Veerabhadra temples at Banavasi and beach temple at Murdeshwara. Other important religious places are the Maarikamba Temple at Sirsi, Sahasra Linga about 15 km from Sirsi, Swarnavalli Math belonging to the Havyaka and Rama Kshatriya community, Sonde or Vadiraj Math of the Madhva community, the Shankar Math and Bhuvangiri temple near Siddapur.

Utara Kannada district is home to the shrines or Dargahs of many sufi saints. Hazrat Shansuddin awliya in Sadashivgad, Hazrat Makhdoom Faqeeh Ismail Sukri and Hazrat Shah Nanga in Bhatkal and Hazrat Makhdoom Abu Mohammed in Murudeshwara are some of the popular ones.

Industries

The major products of small scale industries in Uttara Kannada are roofing tiles, coir products, jewelry, food products, wood and steel furniture, glass and ceramics and seafood. Some of these SSI and tiny industries provide job works, components and spares required for large and medium scale industries, both within and outside the district. Eight large and medium scale industries in the district produce a variety of products like paper, duplex board, caustic soda, ferro alloys, transmission gears, food concentrate, herbal medicines and pharmaceuticals.

Tourist Spots in Uttara Kannada District :

1] Banavasi

2] Sirsi

3] Sonda

4] Sahasralinga

5] Karwar

6] Gokarna

7] Yana

8] Dandeli Wild Life

9] Syntheri Rock

10] Bhuvanagiri

11] Murdeshwara

12] Idagunji

13] Gudnapur

14] Kavala Cave

15] Devbhag

16] Sadashivagada Fort

17] Mirjan Fort

18] Ulavi

19] Bada

20] Kavadikere

21] Jenukallu Gudda

22] Jog Falls

23] Lucington ( Unchalli) Falls

24] Shivaganga Falls

25] Burude Falls

26] Bennehole Falls

27] Vibhoothi Falls

28] Lalguli Falls

29] Magod Falls

30] Sathoddi Falls

31] Doodh Sagar Falls

32] Mundgod Tibetian Collony

33] Attiveri Bird Sanctuary

34] Syiex Point


Courtesy: Wikipedia