Palakkad Fort: Witness of Wars Between British Soldiers & Local Rulers

Palakkad Fort is situated in an area of 15 acres, on the western border of Palakkad town, in the state of Kerala. The fort was built by the King Hyder Ali in AD 1766 when he was the ruler of Mysore. The fort was primarily built to speed up the communication between coimbatore and the West coast. The fort was also used as the military headquarters by Hyder Ali. At that time he found the strategic importance of the palakkad and from that time until 1790 the fort was continually in the hands of the Mysore Sultans or the British. It was first taken by the latter in 1768 when Colonel Wood captured it during his raid on Haider Alis's fortresses, but it was retaken by Haider a few months later. It was recaptured by Colonel Fullarton in 1783, after a siege that lasted eleven days but was abandoned the following year. It later fell into the hands of the Zamorin’s troops. In 1790 it was finally captured by the British under Colonel Stuart. It was renovated and was used as a base for operations that ended with the storming of Srirangapatnam. The fort continued to be garrisoned until the middle of 19th century. In the early 1900s it was converted into a taluk office and now the Fort contains a Prison, Taluk Office, and a Hanuman Temple, and the fort is under Archeological Survey of India. The Fort is now known as Tippu's Fort. Tippu was the son of Hyder Ali.Palakkad Fort is a witness to some fights between the local kings and the British Empire, during the last decades of eighteenth century A.D. This very fact attributes a great historical significance to the fort. It is the legacy left behind by the father of great Tipu Sultan. Apart from that the fort is considered as the best preserved and maintained fort in India. The rich architecture and style depicts the glory of princely states and the excellence in military command ship of the modern Indian empires. To protect from the attack of other armies, the fort is surrounded by a lake. By a local myth all are believing that a under ground way to mysore is opening from the lake.

For stay and food many hotels are located near to the fort here and the fort is very near to the National Highway (NH 47) to Coimbatore from Trissur. Now many local people are using the fort's ground for excersise and jogging etc,.

Leaders of the Fort

Hyder Ali

Tipu Sultan

East India Company

Ali Raja

Dharma Raja

Samoothiri

Archeological Survey

General Information 

District : Palakkad

Nearest Airport: Coimbatore (56 Kms from Fort), Cochin (154 Kms frrom Fort), Calicut (126 Kms from Fort)

Nearest Bus Stop: Palakkad KSRTC Stand (11 Km)

Best Time To Visit : Any Time

Google Satellite View of the Fort