Karwar is a coastal town and the administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district, formerly part of the Bombay Presidency, located at the mouth of the Kali river along the Konkan Coast in the present-day state of Karnataka, India.

Honnavara was the district headquarters of Canara district consisting up to Mangalore to Kodibag Karwar, up till Kali river; and Karwar village (Kādwād) existed as hamlets like Habbuwada, Kajubag, Kodibag, Kone, Baad, Kathinkon, Sunkeri, Shirwad, and Binaga.

This revered reference underscores Karwar's deep historical and mythological ties to the Konkan region, intertwining it with Goa’s cultural and spiritual heritage.

In later centuries, Portuguese traders knew Karwar as Cintacora, Chitrakul, Chittakula or Sindpur.

The common commodities were muslin, black pepper, cardamom, cassier and coarse blue cotton cloth.

For example, the Britannia (1715) which had 18 guns was built to defend Bombay from attacks by Maratha Koli[9] admiral Kanhoji Angre.

Having marched from Bednore in the south, visiting on his way the sacred temple at Gokarna, Shivaji seized Ankola and the next day came to Karwar (then known as Kadwad).

Karwar is also believed to be the coast where Ottomans arrived at the request of Tipu Sultan as aide in battle against the British empire.

The said Ottoman aid could not participate in any battles due to martyrdom of Tipu Sultan but instead set up a stronghold with the locals and later the Portuguese and Marathas to protect the town.

The Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Karwar in 1882, dedicated a chapter of his memoirs to this town.

From 1862 until the re-organization of the Indian states after Independence, present-day Uttara Kannada district was a part of the Bombay Presidency.

[13] During this period, major public works carried out included the improvement of roads, the building of a wharf, wharf road and a sea wall at the Karwar port as well as the construction of a multi-floor storage building, staff housing, a post office, kutcheri (kutcherries or zamindar's offices) and a Christian burial ground.

Many Marathi middle schools were established in Karwar and Joida taluks, despite the fact that the local populace mostly were Konkani native speakers.

In 1956, the Mysore State was formed, incorporating various regions, including parts of the Bombay Presidency.

Despite Karwar being a Konkani-speaking region, it was included in the newly formed Mysore State as part of this reorganization.

Spots of attractions are usually underfunded, relatively little money is allowed for development and people have to constantly rely on the neighboring state of Goa to carry out their needs.

Karwar is situated on the banks of the Kali river which flows west to the Arabian sea from its headwaters at Bidi village in the Western Ghats.

The sub-tidal regions of the islands have a high biodiversity, although the waters off Karwar have recorded higher than normal faecal coliform counts.

It was the native Konkani-speaking people led by late P. S. Kamat who argued before Mahajan Commission that Karwar was an integral part of Karnataka.

Muslim villages in Karwar include: Shiveshvar, Chittakula, Sawar Pai, and Hotegali.

Other primary industries include animal husbandry, sericulture, horticulture, beekeeping, gathering and lumbering and the growing of homeopathic medicinal plants.

The coastal location of Karwar lends to fishing and fisheries which are concentrated in Harikanth, Konkan Kharvis, Gabiths and Ambigas.

Besides the great export of muslin, Karwar provided pepper, cardamoms, cassia, and coarse blue cotton cloth (dungan).

I[27][citation needed] In Binaga township, a chemical company Aditya Birla Chemicals (earlier owned by Ballarpur Industries Ltd / Solaris Chemtech), manufactures caustic soda lye and flakes, chlorine, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, kestra pipes and bromine.

INS Vajrakosh, commissioned on 9 September 2015, is the latest establishment of the Indian Navy at Karwar which will serve as special storage facility for specialised armaments and missiles.

INS Vajrakosh will have all the required infrastructure and will be staffed by specialists to provide specialised servicing facilities for these sophisticated missiles and ammunition.

The proposed Karwar Airport will be built by the Indian Navy at Alageri village[29] near Ankola, in Karnataka.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will operate a civil enclave at the naval air base which is part of the Navy's Rs 100 billion Phase 2 of Project Seabird.

A ban of iron ore mining and export in Karnataka state reduced congestion at the port.