Basavaraj Durga Island, Honnavar

Basavaraj Durga is a 19-hectare island in the Arabian Sea near Honnavar, rising 45 to 50 metres and holding several freshwater wells. It lies 4 km from Honnavar, 3 km from Sharavati Bay, 1 km from Mavinakurve and 700 metres from Taribagilu village. Boats or fishing trawlers reach it by sailing up the Sharavati, a trip of 30 to 45 minutes from Honnavar or 5 to 10 minutes from Taribagilu; canoes are not recommended.

The fort was built in 1590 under Vijayanagara rule; the Keladi ruler Shivappa Nayaka later captured it and named it after the Keladi prince Basavaraj. Massive laterite walls surround it, and eight ruined guns remain. Visitors land on the south-east side at a stone entrance that was once the fort gate. The top is a plateau of dry grass, and a Hindu temple there, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, draws fishermen and boat owners with their families on Makara Sankranti, 14 January, to worship Nagadevate for protection at sea.