St. John’s Fort in Malacca

St. John’s Fort is located southwest of Bukit Cina. It was once a private Portuguese chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist until it was rebuilt in the 18th century by the Dutch and turned into a fort to guard against land-based attacks from restive Malay forces. Sitting atop St. John’s Hill, about three km from Malacca town, the fort was also outfitted with gun embrasures facing the sea.

Today, all that remains of the once-magnificent fort are a few walls and cannon emplacements. Besides getting great souvenir photos with the cannons, it is the view from these breezy ruins that make it a great sightseeing spot. It is easy enough to reach these ruins: simply take the road heading east on Jalan Parameswara and turn left into Jalan Bukit Senjuang.