South India · Karnataka
Shivamogga, Karnataka
About Shivamogga
- Riverside
Where it is
Shivamogga, formerly Shimoga, is a city on the banks of the Tunga River in central Karnataka, known as the gateway to Malnad, the forested and rainy country of the Western Ghats.
History
The region was ruled by the Kadambas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara, and from the 16th century by the Keladi Nayakas, whose capitals at Keladi, Ikkeri and Bidanur lay in this district. Hyder Ali defeated the Nayakas in 1763 and the area joined the Kingdom of Mysore, and the city took the name Shivamogga in 2014.
People
Kannada is the main language, with Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Konkani and Marathi also spoken. The countryside lives by areca nut, paddy and spice farming, Malnad cooking features rice rotis, jackfruit dishes and kadubu dumplings, and Yakshagana is performed in the villages.
Known for
- Jog Falls on the Sharavathi
- Sakrebailu elephant camp
- Agumbe's rainforest and king cobras
- Shivappa Nayaka Palace
- Its large areca nut market
Did you know?
The Kannada poet Kuvempu, the first Kannada writer to receive the Jnanpith Award, grew up at Kuppalli in the Shivamogga district, where his family home is now a museum.
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