Amaravathi River in the context of Udumalpet

Karur (Tamil: [kaɾuːɾ]) is a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur district and is administered by the Karur Municipal Corporation. It is located on the banks of the rivers Amaravathi, Kaveri and Noyyal. It is situated at about 395 km (245 mi) southwest of the state capital Chennai.

The region was ruled by the Cheras during the Sangam period and the town might have been part of the Chera capital at Vanchi-Karuvoor. It formed a part of the principal trade route between the west coast and Tamil Nadu. Archeological evidence points to Karur being a centre of trade during the Chera period. The region was ruled later by the Cholas, as evident from temple epigraphs. It was under the control of Pandyas, Vijayanagara Empire and the Madurai Nayaks across various periods in history. In the later part of the 18th century, the region came under the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company annexed it to the Madras Presidency in 1799. After Indian Independence in 1947, it became pert of Madras State, the predecessor of Tamil Nadu.

Karur district is one of the 38 districts (a district located centrally along the Kaveri and Amaravathi rivers) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The main town in Karur District is the city of Karur, which is also the district headquarters. The district has a population of 1,064,493 with a sex-ratio of 1,015 females for every 1,000 males, according to 2011 census.