Fort ruins with a beautiful sea view, Architectur

By Road: 12 km from Kumta / 22 km from OmBodhi Retreat

Mirjan Fort is a beautiful ruins of a fort located in the village of Mirjan on the west coast of the Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka.
According to the first historical version, Queen Chennabhairadevi of Gersoppa, which was under the Vijayanagara Empire, was initially credited with building the Mirjan Fort in the 16th century. She ruled for 54 years and also lived in the fort. Her reign was one of the longest in the history of female domination in Indian history, from the year 1552 to 1606. During her reign, the port at Mirjan was used for shipping pepper, saltpetre and betel nut to Surat. The Portuguese gave the epithet “Rani, the Pepper queen” (“Rainha de Pimenta” in Portuguese) to the Queen of Gersoppa. In 1757, the Marathas gained control of the fort and later in 1784 it was seized by the British.
Located on the banks of river Aganashini, the fort is known for its architectural elegance. It is a small yet elegant fort built over an area of about 10 acres, and is approached through a series of wide steps that lead to its interior. Its high double walls are built by laterite stones and has bastions with high turrets. The fort has four entrances and is surrounded by a moat with interconnected wells.
During the year 2000-01, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out excavations in the precincts of the fort. These excavations unearthed laterite structures of medieval period in the form of channeled water tank, a gold coin minted in 1652 with inscriptions attributing it to the Portuguese Viceroy Conde De Sarzedas, cannonballs, Chinese porcelain, clay tablets with Islamic inscriptions, etc.
Timings of the fort are from 6 am to 6 pm.