Pallipuram Fort

Pallipuram Fort is a fort located in Ernakulam district of Kerala. It was built by the Portuguese in 1503 and is the ancient surviving European fort in India. The Dutch captured the fort in 1661 and sold it to the State of Travancore in 1789. This fort is situated in the northern edge of the Vypeen Island. This fort is in a hexagonal shape and popularly known as ayikkotta or Alikotta. Pallipuram Fort is one of the heritage sites of Kochi that deserves special mention among the tourist destinations in Kochi.

The outpost is a hexagonal structure. The lowest floor inside the Fort is raised to height of five feet. Cellar inside the fort was used to store gun powder. The gate and the door posts, and the lintels are finely dressed and arched. There is a square well of dimension. Earlier, it was the source of fresh water.

Pallipuram Fort on Google Map

There is an opening to the north which leads to the cellar. There is a circular slab stone, on which was installed a pillar on which the radiating wooden struts supporting the upper two floors must have rested.Each front of the fort measures 32 feet. long, 34 feet high, and the walls are six feet thick. Each face of the fort has three embrasures, one above the other. The central opening of the embrasures measures The two by two and half inches fort could have mounted as many as guns commanding all quarters round it. There is an open space inside giving easy passage to the cellar.

The fort is constructed using laterite, chunam, and wood. The walls are thickly plastered using mortar. The door way in the central circular slab is made of granite. All the six sides of the fort are overgrown with vegetation. The tourists, in order to reach Pallipuram Fort, can avail of the ferry service operating from Ernakulam and Kochi to Vypeen and there are also buses available from Vypeen to Pallipuram.

How to Reach Pallipuram Fort

By Train– One can reach via railways easily to this fort. Ernakulam has two important railway stations of South India Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam Terminus.

By Air– Cochin International Airport is located in Ernakulam District .

By Road– Ernakulam District is one of the most important district of Kerala State and is very well connected with roads to other cities of Kerala and India too.