The Manora fort is situated 65-km away from Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The fort was built by Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

 ruler Serfoji II

Serfoji II

Serfoji II was the last ruler of the Maratha principality of Tanjore to exercise absolute sovereignty over his dominions. His descendants, however, have managed to thrive as titular Maharajahs of Thanjavur to the present day...

 in 1814-1815 to commemorate the successful advance of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 over Napoleon Bonaparte. It is an 8-storied, hexagonal tower, which is 230-meters high overlooking the Bay of Bengal

Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...

. The fort derives its name Manora, from the word "Minaret

Minaret

A minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....

".
In December 2004, five monuments including the fort were damaged in the Indian Ocean Tsunami. It was planned in 2007 by the State Tourism Department to renovate the structure and improve its infrastructure by building several additional facilities including upgrading the children's park and building a tourist's shed.

Claims

It is claimed by the locals that in those hay days, the 8 storey tower overlooked a part of distant country Sri Lanka across the bay of bengal, a claim still unproven. It is said that the Lankan traders used to come to Manora and traded goods with their Indian counterparts.Their are also many claims regarding treasure Serfoji might have hidden inside the mazes of the fort. This resulted in the locals to damage the campus in search of the treasures but yielding none. Neglect from maintainance has already cost the heritage building severely that public are allowed to go until the 2nd floor of the 8 storey tower in fear of collapse of the tower. Also, it is claimed that an underground passege from this fort leads to the big temple in Thanjavur, 65 km away.