Manjarabad Fort, a star fort, was built by Tipu Sultan in the year 1792. Tipu Sultan, the erstwhile ruler of Mysore, built the fort by French military architects. The fort is located in the Hassan District of Karnataka state. The fort is located at an elevation of 988 meters, as a result of which it gives a clear view of its surroundings including the Arabian Sea.

History of Manjarabad Fort
Tipu Sultn built the fort at the time of establishing his sovereignty over Mysore fighting against the British East India Company. During this time, Marathas and Nizam of Hyderabad even started to support the British. Tipu Sultan wanted to make a highway between Mangalore and Coorg to secure his expansion programmes. His alliance with French helped him to build a star fort in European style by the French engineers. After the completion of the fort, Tipu Sultan found it covered in fog while inspecting it, so he named it Manjarabad Fort. The word Manjara is a corrupted version of `manju` meaning "fog or mist" in Kannada language.

Features of Manjarabad Fort
The external walls of the fort were made with granite stones and lime mortar and the interior buildings with fired bricks. The interior portion is consisted of army barracks, armory, stores and others. Next to a deep well, there are two cellars and they were underground structures to store gunpowder. These rooms used to remain cool even during the summer season. Manjarabad Fort with sloping walls is said to be "the most complete Vaubanesque star-shaped fort in India". Since, tourism is not so developed in this region, so the Government of Karnataka has planned to create some basic amenities around the fort to make it a spot for tourists.

Visiting Information to Manjarabad Fort
The best time to visit the fort is during winter season. Hassan Junction Railway Station and Hassan Airport are the nearest modes of transportation to visit the fort. National Highway 75 passes through Hassan District, which can be taken to reach the district via road.

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