Recently, my daughter & her friends had been to Bekal Fort & had sent me bunch of photographs of the place. I was much impressed with the place. I longed to see the place.
Yesterday, I went to bed very late due to car festival @Mangalore & was very tired too.Yet, enthusiasm persuaded me to undertake journey to Bekal Fort today. We boarded Bengaluru Kannur express train at 9 a.m. at Mangalore central railway station from platform no 2. Bekal Fort is the largest well preserved giant keyhole shaped fort in Kerala. It is near Kanhangad . It is at a distance of 11 KM. from Kanhangad in Pallikere village. It is maintained by Archaeological survey department of India.Train fare to it is only Rs 25/- Being morning the weather was cool and cool breeze was blowing from either side. There was not heavy rush on the train. Both the sides of train were flooded with coconut trees. Being express train it did not halt at Bekal Fort. So we got down at Kanhangad. It was about an hour journey. Railway station & bus station were not far off at Kanhangad. We covered the distance by walk. We boarded the bus proceeding towards Kasaragod. It was a shuttle bus. It was halting every five minutes. People were getting in & getting down. There was not heavy rush in the bus also.
We passed through Kanhangad town. Every place in Kerala has developed with gulf money that is the thought that enters the mind of people who traverse in Kerala. Of course ,roads need a lot of improvement that thought also enters the mind too. After 45 minutes journey we approached Bekal Fort on the left hand side. At the bus stop we got down. Bekal Fort was 1 KM from that point. There were number of auto rickshaws parked there. We preferred walking than them.On one side of road there was J U P school Agasara Hole and on the other side of the road there was Vishnu Domavathi Temple. At the entrance of majestic Bekal Fort there is Mukhyaprana Temple. After having blessings from God,we purchased entrance tickets to the fort. The fort is always open to visitors from 8 am to 5 pm. Entrance fee is only Rs 5/-
What a beautiful fort. Its outer as well as inner appearances are magnificent. Who says it is over 300 years old. It seems as if it has not undergone seizures at all. All walls of it are in tact. It doesn't appear like a relic at all. Beautiful lawns & gardens are maintained in and around the fort. It is spread over 40 acres. There are no remnants of palace, mansion such other things inside it.The walls of the fort are 12 ft high. There are outlets in them for the guns & they reveal that people were technically advanced even in those days. Everywhere it is clean & neat. The fort is by the side of Arabian Sea. Sea beach is in the vicinity only. Man would be mad with sceneries. People from various parts of globe come here. If it were in U.S. A. it would have been certainly a national park. There are two tea stalls inside the fort. The back gate leads us to the beach.
To day its observation towers where centuries ago huge cannons used to be placed give beautiful view of Arabian sea. To day Bekal Fort & its surroundings are backwaters & hill stations. It is where water sports are conducted. They are a favourite shooting locale for film makers too. Kerala is known as God's own country because of places like Bekal Fort only. Sun set is a treat to watch at Bekal Fort.