Savanur

Savanur is a town and taluk headquarters of Savanur Taluk in Haveri District of Karnataka state, India. It is located 21 KM towards North from District head quarters Haveri. 381 KM from State capital Bangalore towards East. Savanur was one of the princely states of British India, under the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency. Its Muslim rulers, styled “Nawab” descended from Abdul Karim Khan, an Afghan in the service of the Mughal Empire, who received a grant near Delhi in 1672. His successors ruled over extensive territories almost independently for over a century. However, Savanur was located between the increasing power of the Marathas and the equally powerful Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, which gradually eroded away Savanur’s territory. By the second half of the eighteenth century, more than half of Savanur had been ceded to the Marathas. By the end of the century, Tipu Sultan had annexed the remainder. With the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, independence returned to Savanur with about a third of its original territory. Thereafter, Savanur slowly drifted towards British suzerainty.

The spectacular tourist attraction of Savanur is the three huge Baobab Trees located in the outskirts of this town. These are one-of-its kind tourist attraction as no such Baobab Tree is reported to exist in whole of India. The biggest Baobab Tree measures more than 18 m wide, the second largest one is more than 16 m at girth and the third tree is 14 m at girth. According to the legends these trees were planted by Lord Krishna. A fence has been put around these Baobab trees for their protecti