Davanagere District, Karnataka

Location: Davanagere also pronounced as Davangere was carved out as a separate district of Kartanaka in 1997 from Chitradurga district. It shares boundary with Chikmagalur in the south, Chitradurga in the east, Bellary in the North and east, Haveri in the west.

District headquarter: Davanagere

Distance: 260 km from Bangalore

How to reach there: By train from Bangalore, Mysore. By bus from Pune, Bangalore, Shimoga and Hospet.

Route: Bangalore – Tumkur – Chitradurga – Davanagere

Where to stay:

1. Hotel Shanti Park
# 216, Ashoka Road/P.B. Road, Davangere,
Karnataka- 577 002, India
1 km from Bus stand and 1/2 km from railway station

2. Hotel Pooja International
Pune-Bangalore Road,
Tel: 08192-233115

3. Hotel Darshan Deluxe Lodge
Pune-Bangalore Road,
Tel: 08192-50444, 50014, 50580

4. Hotel Abhiman
# 153, Pune-Bangalore Road

Where to eat:

1. Chetana Hotel
Akkamaha Dev Road, Main City, Davanagere

2. Rajbhavan Bar & Restaurant
Harihara Davangere, ) Ph: 08192 -272704

Various types of dosas are available in Davanagere, do taste them.

Language spoken: Kannada. Hindi and english is understood to an extent.

The name Davanagere is derived from the word “DAVANA KERE” which means village of lakes. Historically Davanagere has been ruled by various rulers starting from Chalukya kings, Pandyas, Hoysalas, Vijaynagara kings, local chieftians, Marathas, Hyder Ali – Tippu Sultan and Mysore Wodeyar kings. Davangere was a major center of textile industry before the 1990s and the brand DCM [Davanagere Cotton Mills] is well known. It was a major producer of cotton. However, most of the textile industry has closed now.

What to see:

1. Sri Durgambika temple: Durgambika temple is the biggest temple in the city and is located in the old Davanagere area (Halepet in Shivajinagar). Goddes Durga is the presiding deity here, known by various names like Dugamma, Durgavva, Durgambika etc. The present form of the temple was constructed in 1932. A special puja is conducted every Tuesday and Friday.

2. Sri Chennagiri Rangappa Clock Tower: This clock tower (75 ft) is a distinct landmark of Davanagere. The foundation for the clock tower was laid by Sir Mirja Ismail, the then Deewan of Mysore province during 1937 and it was inaugarated during 1961 by Sri. T Subramanya, the then Hon’ble LSG Minister of Mysore. The clock was fully funded by Sri. Chennagiri Rangappa and hence it was named after him. Recently, his family again invested around 3 lakh to replace the earlier mechanical clock with solar HMT clock.

3. St. Thomas Church: St. Thomas Church was built during 1946 and is located at P J Extension (Prince Jayachamarajendra Extension) 6th Cross.

4. TV Station: Besides the TV station there is a huge reserviour which supplies to Davanagere city and is a popular picnic spot during summer season.