Koppal District, Karnataka

Koppal (ಕೊಪ್ಪಳ), historically celebrated as Kopana Nagara, is an ancient cultural and spiritual district situated on the northern bank of the sacred Tungabhadra River. Renowned since antiquity as a preeminent Jain pilgrimage centre with over seven hundred historic basadis, Koppal is home to two major rock edicts of Emperor Ashoka at Palkigundu and Gavimath.

Spanning an area of 5,525 square kilometres, Koppal was home to 1,389,920 people in the 2011 Census of India. The district encompasses the celebrated mythological landscape of Anegundi, believed to be the ancient kingdom of Kishkindha mentioned in the Ramayana, featuring prehistoric rock shelters, fortified gates, and sacred river ghats.

Koppal is globally celebrated for its distinctive Geographical Indication (GI) tagged Kinnal Craft, a centuries-old artisanal tradition of creating lightweight, vividly painted wooden toys and idols. Explore the taluks, Gram Panchayats, and villages below to discover comprehensive civic data.

Koppal has an extraordinary historical heritage spanning over two thousand years. The discovery of Ashokan Minor Rock Edicts at Gavimath and Palkigundu confirms that the region formed part of the Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century BCE.

Under the Western Chalukyas, Koppal flourished as an imperial hub of temple architecture, culminating in the construction of the magnificent Mahadeva Temple at Itagi in 1112 CE, described in historic inscriptions as 'Devalaya Chakravarthi' (Emperor among Temples). Anegundi on the Tungabhadra served as the original cradle and stronghold from which the Vijayanagara Empire was founded by Harihara and Bukka in 1336 CE.

Koppal Fort, perched atop an imposing rocky hill rising 400 feet, was fortified by Tippu Sultan with the help of French engineers in 1786. Koppal was reorganized as a separate district from Raichur in 1997.

Koppal lies on the northern Deccan plateau, bounded by Bagalkote to the north, Gadag to the west, Vijayanagara and Ballari to the south, and Raichur to the east. The terrain is marked by rugged granitic hills, tor formations, and fertile black and red sandy loam plains.

The district is bordered to the south by the perennial Tungabhadra River, while the Hirehalla river provides local irrigation storage through the Hirehalla Dam project.

The administrative machinery of Koppal district is organized into several revenue taluks, each administered by a Tahsildar under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate. Local rural governance is delivered through three tiers of Panchayati Raj institutions: the Zilla Panchayat at the district level, Taluk Panchayats, and Gram Panchayats serving rural village clusters.

Explore the interactive taluk cards and accordion directory below to discover verified counts of Gram Panchayats, inhabited hamlets, and canonical revenue villages registered in the national Local Government Directory (LGD).

Koppal's economy blends agricultural trade, iron and steel rolling mills, rice milling, and traditional artisanal handicrafts. In recent years, Koppal has emerged as India's premier toy manufacturing hub with the development of the 400-acre Koppal Toy Cluster (KTC).

The ancient village of Kinnal supports traditional master craftsmen producing GI-tagged wooden toys. Rice mills in Gangavathi process premium Sona Masoori paddy for national markets.

Agriculture forms the livelihood of the vast majority of Koppal's rural communities. Gangavathi taluk, known as the 'Rice Bowl of Karnataka', is extensively irrigated by the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal, yielding record harvests of premium Sona Masoori rice.

Dryland taluks like Kushtagi and Yelburga cultivate high-yield jowar, bajra, groundnut, sunflower, and commercial cotton. Horticultural crops, especially sweet pomegranates and figs, are grown extensively under drip irrigation.

Koppal hosts the Koppal Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Government Engineering College at Talakal, and numerous arts, science, and commerce colleges. Rural schools across all taluks provide foundational education connected through the portal registry.

The KarnatakaInfo.com database holds 1,669 school records for Koppal district (UDISE+). This dataset covers schools only; colleges and universities appear in the text above where verified.

• Primary with Upper Primary657
• Primary490
• Secondary Only171
• Pr. Up Pr. and Secondary Only165
• Higher Secondary only/Jr. College78
• Upper Pr. and Secondary46
• Pr. with Up.Pr. Sec. and H.Sec.24
• Secondary with Higher Secondary19
• Up. Pr. Secondary and Higher Sec13
• Upper Primary only6

School listings are available on each village and taluk page.

The 450-bed KIMS District Teaching Hospital at Koppal delivers multi-specialty clinical care, emergency services, and intensive surgical units, supported by taluk hospitals at Gangavathi, Kushtagi, and Yelburga.

The database records 683 public health facilities in Koppal district. This is the dataset available on KarnatakaInfo.com and should not be read as a complete list of all hospitals.

• Immunisation Facility390
• PHC207
• CHC86

Koppal offers a remarkable variety of historical, cultural, and natural tourism destinations, spanning ancient stone temples, fortresses, scenic river ghats, and wildlife sanctuaries.

Visitors explore diverse heritage circuits across the district that showcase Karnataka's architectural excellence and natural splendour.

Koppal is famous for the monumental Gavimath Jathra, often called the 'Kumbh Mela of South India', where over ten lakh devotees assemble in January for mass feeding (Dasoha) and spiritual enlightenment.

Traditional puppetry, Bayalata folk theatre, and devotional kirtana traditions thrive in the rural communities.

The regional diet is based on nutritious Jolada Rotti and Sajje Rotti (pearl millet flatbread) served with spicy Shenga Chutney, raw onion, and Ennegai curry.

Festive foods include delicious Shenga Holige, sweet Susla, and fresh jaggery delicacies.

The Tungabhadra River forms the prime water asset of the district, feeding extensive canal networks and supporting freshwater fisheries. The rocky granitic ridges provide raw materials for stone masonry, while extensive solar irradiance powers utility-scale solar energy plants.

Koppal is connected by National Highway 67 (Hubballi-Guntakal corridor) and State Highway 23. Koppal Railway Station is an active station on South Western Railway with direct trains to Bengaluru, Hubballi, and Hyderabad.

KarnatakaInfo.com brings together the administrative hierarchy of Koppal district: its taluks, Gram Panchayat counts and revenue villages. Each taluk has a village directory, and each village has a profile with Census population and literacy figures where available, land-use data, nearby schools, healthcare facilities, post offices, nearby tourist attractions and distances to the nearest bus and railway stations.