Fortaleza do Caes (Fort Royal)

Built by the Portuguese in the mid 17th century and was captured by the Dutch in March 1968. Dutch renamed the fort as Hammenhiel (Heel of the Ham) as it takes the shape of a smoked ham (shank bone). The Dutch rebuilt the fort in 1658 filling in the hollow ramparts, building a brick lined reservoir to the north of the fort, replacing the upper floor with a stone vault and constructing a stone breakwater. The prison has nine large dungeons to store gunpowder.

The British used the fort as a high Security prison and later it was used as an infectious diseases hospital.

I first visited the fort on the 29th of April 2013 at the age of 14, it was renovated into a beautiful hotel and wasn\’t open to the public back then. After seven years I recently visited the fort again with a few family friends of mine and was surprised to see how the fort now has a beautiful garden with dinning area that wasn\’t there back then.

The guests now also can have a one of a kind experience by living and sleeping within a room that is designed as a prison cell which is constructed in a unique way, the fort also have four rooms that aren\’t cells.

To book visit FORT HAMMENHEIL RESORT-JAFFNA