Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) is the southern coastal district of Karnataka State with an area of 4859 Sq.K.M. The district is bound by sea in the west and Western Ghats in the East, Udupi district in the North and Kerala State in the South.
Mangaluru is the district head quarters of Dakshina Kannada and it has become an education hub with a number of reputed institutions offering variety of courses attracting students from all over the country and abroad. It is also famous for its beaches, temples and religious places of worship.
Located 347 Kms. from Bengaluru on the coast, Mangaluru, the district head quarters of Dakshina Kannada, has been a trading centre for several centuries. It was, since the early period of the Christian era till the end of the 14th century, the capital of the Alup Rulers. From the 14th to the 16th centuries the area came under the governance of the Vijayanagar dynasty. But the strongest influence was that of the Portuguese, who arrived on the coast in the 15th century. They opened a factory for trade and brought with them the Roman Catholic religion too. Conquered by Haider Ali in 1763, Mangaluru became the chief port of Mysore. When Tipu Sultan’s Fort fell in 1799 to the British, they made it the district headquarters of Kanara. With an important port, this coastal town, has become a bustling commercial centre. Yet it preserves its old world charm, with its narrow winding streets, fringed with coconut palms, quaint houses with terracotta tiled roofs, temples and churches.