February 7, 2020

My TripAdvisor Review No.614: Fort St. Angelo, Kannur, Kerala.

Five Hundred Years Old Fort Of The Portuguese Era.

This is an over five hundred year old fort built by the Portuguese after the 1498 visit of Vasco Da Gama to India. The fort was used by the Portuguese to provide naval supplies for their conquest of Goa and Malacca. Later in 1663 the Dutch captured the fort from the Portuguese and pulled down the original wooden structure and built a stronger stone fort. In 1772 the Dutch sold the fort to King Ali Raja of Arakkal. In 1790 it was seized by the British and used as their chief military station in the Malabar till 1947.

The fort is in a fairly well preserved condition and being looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is open for tourists every day from 8 am to 6 pm. Car parking charges were ₹20 and entry charges ₹25 per head, which can be paid with credit card as well. The fort is at a beautiful location overlooking the Moppila Bay Harbour and is quite a nice area to walk around in with a lot of greenery and good views of the sea along the ramparts of the fort, with the old canons still in position as they used to be ages ago. There is also an amphitheatre where Light and Sound shows are sometimes held in peak tourist season.

It is a must see attraction if you visit Kannur. It will take around an hour to walk around the scenic precincts of the fort, but well worth the effort. The best time to visit is early morning before it gets too hot, or in the evening just before sunset.
Date of experience: December 2019

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