Arippu Fort in Mannar – මන්නාරමේ අරිප්පු බලකොටුව

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Arripu Fort is a small two bastion fort built by the Portuguese just before the causeway at Arippu. This fort was handed over to the Dutch in 1658 after the fall of Mannar. This fort again changed hands to the British.

Mannar Seas  has always been a important area for all rulers of Sri Lanka since ancient times known for abundance of high quality pearls. Fedrick North, the first British Governor to then Ceylon Built his official residency at the Beach Front now known as the Doric, and converted this fort to a  bungalow for the officers who managed the pearl fisheries in the area.

Later this bunglow was converted to a Rest House but abandoned due to the LTTE terrorist war which spilled in to this area too.

Incidentally it was to this fort that Robert Knox, the famous prisoner of Kandyan King escaped to  after 19 1/2  years in captivity. The dutch, who was in control of this country at the time made arrangements to send him back to England. On his return to England, he published his work ‘An Historical Relation of Ceylon’ in 1681.

This book was later translated into Dutch, German and French, and came to be internationally recognised as a book dealing with the Kandyan kingdom, its inhabitants and his experience concerning the socio-economic history of the island. The book inspired to a certain extent as one of the best-known works of the English fiction ‘Robinson Crusoe’ written by Daniel Defoe.

Also See

• Forts and Fortifications of Sri Lanka
• Ancient Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka
• Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity

Map of  Arippu Fort

Driving Directions Arippu Fort