Since the colonial era, the a hydroelectric station under the waterfall has been used to power Gokak Mills, one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of yarn in India.

The river Markandeya, a tributary of the Ghataprabha, dashes down through 43 ft step wise hill plates to form Godachinamalaki Falls.

Then, it was controlled by many emperors namely Kampili Raya, Vijayanagara, Bidar's Bahamani kings, Bijapur Sultans, Mughals (Aurangazeb), Hyderali, Tippu Sultan (Savanoor Nawaab), Maratha Ghorpade and Peshwas; in 1818 CE British captured Gokak by defeating Peshwas.

Gokak taluka contributed to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund which was meant for humanitarian assistance for the Indian Ocean tsunami victims.

Child Development Project Officer Mr P N Patil who addressed a press conference had disclosed that it was decided to donate a day's salary of government officials towards the relief fund.

[8] The city is growing rapidly in terms of industries, business, as well as the fields of education, arts, literature and folk-art.

It is associated with famous Kannada writers and thinkers such as Shri Krishna Murty Puranik, Anand Kanda, Prof K. Sharanappa, Dr. S. B. Totad, Dr. Arjun Y. Pangannavar https://www.educreation.in/author/arjunypangannavar/Basavaraj Kattimani, Prof. Kundanagar Rngler, D.C. Pawate and Raghavendra Patil.

Many popular folk-artists such as Padmashri Dr.Chandrashekar Kambar, Ningayya Swami Pujari, Ishwarappa Minachi, Yallappa Pujeri, Dr. Hatapaki and Ishwarachandra Betageri are also associated with the town.

Arjun Y. Pangannavar has authored 35+ books on economics and literature, his latest contribution is "Shrimad Valmiki Ramayan Mahakaavya-Darshanm: Literature- Epic Poem (Kannada), 2021.

Gokak (Kannada: ಗೋಕಾಕ) was basically an 'Agrahar' founded in pre-historic period, place of tribal people/jungle people then ruled by Rattas (850 Ad-1250Ad), Bijapur Sultans, Tippu-Sultan and British (1819) and became Municipality in 1853, next to Belgaum City.

The city is also known for "Gokak Kotwals" who ruled the town in the 16th century and had disputes and fought a battle as well with Rani Abbakka at the time.

Vegetation of Gokak can be classified into dry deciduous forests which is generally found scattered in the central and eastern parts of Belgaum district.

Ground water resources are also extensively tapped in remote areas which are not easily accessible to canals and rivers.

[20] It has also been found that about 40% of area in Belgaum district has a higher concentration of nitrates in drinking water due to extensive dependency on fertilisers for agriculture.

Region lying to the north of Gokak consist of sandstones and quartzite that form low ridges.

[21][22][23] Being situated in central region of Belgaum district which lies in the rugged terrain of north-western Karnataka, Gokak is well known for its pleasant warm climate throughout the year except for the winter.

The religions represented in Belgaum district include Hindus (84.59%), Muslims (10.4%), Jains (4.1%), Christians (0.42%) along with Sikhs, Buddhists and others making up the rest of the population.

The region around Gokak and parts of central Belgaum district has a good production yield for Sugarcane, Corn, Cotton, Jowar and Betel leaf owing to which there is an industrial presence of a cotton spinning mill, sugar industry and starch processing plant.

It facilitates various infrastructure projects and acquires land to implement various industrialisation schemes approved by the government of Karnataka.

[46][47][48] Riddhi Siddhi Gluco Biols Ltd. (RSGBL) is a major starch processing facility located 3 km west of Gokak.

Riddhi Siddhi has acquired two multi-national corn processing units of Glaxo and Hindustan Unilever in the last 15 years.

[50][51] Being close to the border with the state of Maharashtra and Goa, the cuisine in Gokak is influenced by multiple cultures.

Delicacies ranging from the chats like Bhelpuri, Sevpuri, Dhokla to the south Indian dishes like Dosa, Idli, Vada (food), Avalakki, Puri Saagu can be found.

There are a number of restaurants serving Indian Chinese cuisine like chow mein, Manchow soup, Gobi manchurian, Sichuan noodles & Spring roll.

Karadantu consists of a number of dry fruits like Almonds, Pistachios, Walnuts, Raisins, grated Coconut flakes, Jaggery, Cashewnut, Apricot and Anjeer.

NWKRTC which is a sub-division of KSRTC runs buses from Gokak to all corners of Karnataka as well as neighbouring states.

They are well connected to major cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Goa, New Delhi and Chennai.

Belgaum Airport currently has Spicejet flight services to Bangalore, Mumbai, Other destinations like Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad are also scheduled in recent days.

Artificial fruits, vegetables, animals, birds and more are made up of wood and are popularly known as Gokak toys.