Manjarabad Fort

Manjarabad Fort stands at an elevation of 3240 ft on the outskirts of Sakleshpur. The star- shaped fort was built by Tipu Sultan as a protection. The fort is a must visit to witness the grandeur of Islamic-style architecture. The trek up to the fort is a little bit difficult but the view of the Western Ghats from the top is spell-bounding.

As per the history, Sakleshpur earned its name during the reign of the Hoysalas when they discovered the broken Shiv linga on their arrival. The town was also ruled by the kings of Mysore and the Chalukyas and there is also another legend saying that the town derived its name due to its agricultural excellence.

The octagonal star-shaped Manjarabad Fort at 3,240 feet altitude lies 6 kilometres from the town’s bus stand. Maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, the fort boasts of the sprawling vistas of the hillscape and even the Arabian on a clear day. You have to get down 200 meters away from the gate and climb around 253 steps to find the mural depicting the fort map.

The architecture of the Fort
Built-in a pattern of military forts as developed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban in 1792 during the reign of Tipu Sultan, Manjarabad Fort acted as the ammunition storing frontier against the British and as it used to be shrouded by mist or “manju” in Kannada, it earned its name as Manjarabad. The fort made up of granite chunks features eight walls surrounded by a deep moat, archways in Islamic architectural style, parapet with musket holes and cannon mounts, chambers for the army, cross-shaped rainwater reservoir, two underground cellars to store gunpowder and a tunnel leading to Srirangapatna.