Karwar town & its Warship Museum, Karnataka

He played an important role in 1971 Indo-Pak war

Karwar is a sea-side town, situated on the banks of Kali river, which lies about 15 kilometers south of the Karnataka-Goa state border. It was the chief town of the North Kanara district in British India. Karwar was an ancient site of sea trade visited by the Arabs, Dutch, Portuguese and later the British. Ibn Battuta passed through this route during his journeys. Significant and picturesque, the historically important Fort Sadashivgad is now a popular tourist destination located by the Kali river bridge at the confluence of the river and the Arabian Sea. According to historians, this fort was constructed to safeguard the northern extremes of Kanara district.

Karwar Beach
Karwar Beach

A bay near Binaga has become a new naval base for the Indian Navy called INS Kadamba, its third largest. The base was initially developed as part of Project Seabird. Beautiful beaches including Casurina Beach (at Binaga) has been christened as Kamat Bay by the Navy and closed to public now.

Warship Museum , Karnataka
Warship Museum Entrance

Karwar is famous for a variety of seafood delicacies. Fish curry and rice is the staple diet of the locals, with cashews and coconuts being widely used in the cuisine. Karwar has many beautiful beaches with one being named as Tagore Beach after Rabindranath Tagore, famous Indian poet. Once Rabindranath Tagore said about Karwar beach, ” The sea beach of Karwar is certainly a fit place in which to realize that the beauty of nature is not a mirage of the imagination, but reflects the joy of the infinite and thus draws us to loose ourselves in it.”

At Warship Museum
At Warship Museum
INS Chapel
INS Chapel

There is also a Warship Museum situated between Tagore Beach and National Highway 17 which houses INS Chapel that played an active role in 1971 Indo-Pak war and now rests on the shores of Tagore Beach. It is a small ship in dimensions as compared to other navy ships. It is a must see along with Karwar Aquarium if around Karwar apart from strolling on its golden sand beaches.