When we visited Jog Falls this October, we had an additional day in hand to explore other places. I was just searching for nearby attractions when I stumbled upon Mirjan Fort. The name was unfamiliar, but the pictures looked absolutely stunning. The fort covered in a blanket of green moss looked like a pretty castle from Scotland. The best thing about this fort is despite being so close to the touristy Gokarna, it is still offbeat and visited by very few people. So we decided to skip the other popular destinations and instead take a day trip to Mirjan fort.
About Mirjan Fort
Mirjan Fort lies at around 22 kms from Gokarna in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. The fort located amidst the idyllic green surroundings by the river Aghanasini is spread over an area of 12 acres. Built with laterite blocks, the fort has high walls and bastions.
Believed to be built in the 16th century, the actual history of the fort is still unknown though there are many legends on who actually built the fort. The most famous one is the story of Queen Chennabhairadevi of Gerosoppa or famously known as the ‘Pepper Queen’ who controlled the pepper business through this fort. But as per the board at the entrance of the fort, it is built by Sharif-Ul-Mulk who was ruling Ponda as the feudatory of the Adil Shahi Sultan of Bijapur. The fort served as an important port for overseas trade during the medieval period. Currently the fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a protected monument.
Itinerary Suggestion for Mirjan Fort
Mirjan fort will take max 2 hours to visit and you can cover it in a half day trip. So it would not be wise to travel hundreds of kilometres just to visit this fort. Instead you can club it with the other places of interest close by to make a perfect trip. Below are the available options depending on number of days available.
If you have 2 days, then you can cover any of the following:
Jog Falls – Honnavar – Mirjan Fort
Jog Falls – Mirjan Fort – Yana Caves
If you have 3 days, then we suggest the following options:
Jog Falls – Mirjan Fort – Murudeswar
Jog Falls – Mirjan Fort – Gokarna
If you have 4 days, these are the options:
Jog Falls – Mirjan Fort – Karwar
Goa – Mirjan Fort – Jog Falls
Udupi – Mirjan Fort – Jog Falls
Check our blogs on Udupi and Jog Falls for details.
Our experience
The journey from Jog Falls to Mirjan Fort took around 2-2.5 hours including a stop at Gerosoppa Bridge and few minutes of lunch break. Around 45 mins away from Jog Falls, though Gerosoppa Bridge is not a major attraction, but we really liked the place. It is a lovely hanging bridge made over the river to help the people of nearby villages.
Most stretch of the road was scenic where we passed through lush forests, paddy fields and mountains accompanying us through the journey. Then at one place we took a turn from the main road to a narrow mud road and in sometime the Fort came in to view. It was like a place we have never seen before. The outside of the fort looked like a fairytale castle surrounded by luxuriant lawns. As we set our tripod for a few pictures, the caretaker came rushing towards us telling us we could not take pictures using a tripod as it was a protected monument. So we left the tripod in the car and made our way to the entrance of the fort. There were hardly other people at the time, but surely some cows who seemed to like the fort a lot. Read More….
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