Placed around 65 km from Thanjavur in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Manora Fort is a magnificent fort which was erected by Serfoji II, the Maratha ruler in 1814-1815. Overlooking the Bay of Bengal, this eight-storied fort has towers in hexagonal shape that are 23 meters high. It is believed that there is a hidden underground walkway in the fort that is directly connected to Thanjavur’s main temple, Brihadeswarar Temple. General public can go only up till 2 floors because of the fear that the high towers might collapse, the other floors are closed.
It is believed that this was the venue where the traders of India and Sri Lanka used to have business meetings. Though the fort was damaged due to tsunami in December 2004 but it was restored by the State Tourism Department in 2007. They also added a children’s park and a Tourist Shed. Brihadeswarar Temple, Schwartz Church and Sangeetha Mahal are some of the other nearby tourist attractions.
