Srirangapatnam

Srirangapatna is a small town near Mysore in southern India. Tipu Sultan ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from Srirangapatna. The whole town is surrounded by the Cauvery river which makes Srirangapatna a rare island town.

The town was the scene of at least one of the three battles that Tipu fought against the British who were based in Madras, and is the place where he was ultimately killed. The town, amongst other things, is famous for a thousand-year-old temple dedicated to Sri Ranganatha Swamy (a form of Lord Vishnu), after whom the town obtained its name.

In Srirangapatna, the Sultan had a fortune in jewels and a famous wind-up model of a tiger attacking a British Redcoat. The model is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Near Srirangapatna is the Ranganathittu bird-sanctuary which is the breeding site for many bird species such as the Painted Stork, Open-billed Stork, Black-headed Ibis, River Tern, Great Stone Plover and Indian Shag.

The town of Srirangam near Trichy is also similar in that it is in an island formed by Kaveri and is the site of the most important shrine dedicated to 'Sri Ranganatha Swamy'.