Fort Hammenhiel

Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka

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Fort Hammenhiel is a small octagonal colonial fort built on a tiny rocky island at the entrance to the Jaffna Lagoon, between the islands of Kayts and Karaitivu in the Jaffna Peninsula of northern Sri Lanka.

The Portuguese first built it in 1618 of quarried coral and granite and named it Fortaleza Real (Fort Royal), intending it to guard the sea approach to Jaffna, but after a three‑month siege in 1658 the Dutch captured it, renamed it Hammenhiel (Heel of the Ham, because the island looked like a smoked ham to them), and in 1680 completely rebuilt and strengthened it with a stone breakwater, vaulted ramparts, triangular projections, gun embrasures and a brick‑lined rainwater reservoir.

Under British rule, the fort was used as a maximum‑security prison and later as an isolation hospital, and during World War II it became Camp Hammenhiel, a base for Special Operations, with Admiral Lord Mountbatten visiting in 1944. Later, under the Sri Lankan Army, it was used to detain political prisoners (including Rohana Wijeweera) and sailors accused of wrongdoings, and in recent decades the Sri Lanka Navy has transformed much of the fort and its grounds into Fort Hammenhiel Resort.

A boutique heritage hotel where visitors can stay even in former prison cells, explore the ramparts, cannons and bastions, and enjoy panoramic views of the lagoon and surrounding islands. Access to the fort island is only by marine transport (boat or car barge) from the resort on nearby Karaitivu/Karainagar, and the site is today a popular tourist attraction, architectural landmark and living museum of Portuguese, Dutch, British and Sri Lankan history.