Karkala is a town and the headquarters of eponymous Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka state in India. It is well known as an important center of Jainism, with several ancient basadis and the iconic 42-foot monolithic statue of Bahubali (Gommateshwara) dating back to the 15th century. Karkala lies near the foothills of the Western Ghats, and has a number of natural and historical landmarks, and is a major tourist and transit destination due to its strategic location along the way to Hebri, Sringeri, Kalasa, Horanadu, Udupi, Kollur, Subrahmanya and Dharmasthala.