Friday 5 October 2012

Karwar, a beach city on the Arabian shores


After driving through the mersmerising western ghats we reached the small quiet beach city of Karwar. We took NH4 from Bangalore to Hubli and then from there took a left to get on Karwar road which is on NH17.

  By the time we reached there it was almost late afternoon and some more minutes to go before the sun sets on the Arabian sea. So we decided to catch the sunset first before checking in to any hotel......and what a great decision that was!!


The sea at Karwar, at late afternoon.


  We stood there watching the sun getting down and the colour of the sea and sky changing every second. The sea water and the foam that was bluish white changed into hues of orange and red.


Sunset at Karwar beach
Yet another sunset shot at Karwar beach.

Tourist crowd in Karwar is pretty less and so one can have more of the sea. We clicked as many photos as we could to freeze what we saw.

We checked in at Hotel Premier in Karwar. The hotel is very near to the beach and has a nice restaurant with it. The room rates were also pretty less. Non AC rooms costs Rs.500 plus taxes while AC rooms comes for Rs.850 plus taxes, although the rates are for the off season.

The next day morning we again set off for the beach. The sea was calm in the morning and we could spot a few islands on the sea. One of the islands even had a light house. Local fishermen were getting into the sea for their day's catch. Karwar is rich in flora and fauna. We also spotted some colourful birds as we were heading back to our hotel for breakfast.

Bee eater. We found it on the beach.
A pair of eagles at their nest near the beach
A butterfly on the bushes by the beach


We ordered for upama and tea in the restaurant of Hotel Premier. They made the upama so good that we asked for one extra pack that we would eat on our way to Goa that very day. If you go to Karwar, do taste the upama there.

The city of Karwar mostly has government buildings and offices. Unlike other Indian cities,  Karwar has very less people and the roads are mostly empty. The pace of life also seems slow and worth savouring.

There is a naval base in Karwar. There is also a warship museum and an aquarium in Karwar though we did not see any of those. Rabindranath Tagore beach is just adjacent to Karwar beach and has a small park with it.


Entrance to the Ravindranath Tagore Beach
Warship museum at Karwar


The river Kali flows through Karwar and the Kali river bridge is simply awesome. A few miles afer crossing the Kali river bridge you actually enter Goa.

We bid adieu to beautiful Karwar as we approached the police checkpost after crossing the bridge, though in our mind we pledged to come back again.

29 comments:

  1. Sreedhar, it feels really nice to know that you liked our blog post.

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  2. Great post there! I might be visiting in a day or two and look forward to visiting both the beaches and tasting the Upama! By the way, that bird is a green bee eater that you captured so well!

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    1. Hey Rushikesh, great to know that you liked the post. We're sure that you'll enjoy your visit to Karwar. We will soon update the name of the bird in the post. Thanks for the info.

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  3. Fantastic frames...breathtaking!

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  4. I agree, it was a good decision to stay back and watch the sunset. Those are lovely shots.
    So are the other pictures. That Upma must have been really good :)

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    1. Yeah, upma was fantastic. We'll try that for sure on our next visit. :)
      Thank you very much for your complement.

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  5. Karwar is indeed a pristine place with beauty in abundance!

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    1. Yes Rahul. Karwar is very peaceful. And we thoroughly enjoyed the serenity of the place.

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  6. awesomely breath taking clicks :) following you

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    1. Thank you very much Vinisha. We're glad that you liked the photographs. And thanks again for following the blog.

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  7. Wonderful shots from the beach.

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  8. A grand post! Breathtakingly beautiful sunsets!

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    1. Thank you very much Amit. Yes, the sunset in karwar is very beautiful and add to that a very less crowded beach. :)

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  9. Lovely Stretch. Mangalore , Udupi,Murdeshwar , Gokarna , Karwar and Goa.

    Nice pics.

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    1. Yes, that stretch is fantastic. We haven't been to all of them but will sure do.
      Thanks for stopping by Vishal.

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  10. the sunset pic is lovely. i loved the Tagore beach myself. the hawkers selling peanuts and candy, eat nuts, chill on the beach: what fun!

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    1. Thank you very much Sneo for stopping by. Yes, the beauty of this beach is really soothing.

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  11. Lovely beach, lovely pictures. Very inviting to visit.

    Thanks for sharing.

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  12. the sunset pic...the first one..whoa! amazing shot

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    1. Thank you very much Sugato. We're glad you liked it.

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  13. Wow, very interesting and useful post... I re-read it again....

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    1. Thank you very much...we are extremely delighted that you liked the post :)

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