Whomp's Fortress

Whomp's Fortress is the stronghold home of the Whomp race and their leader, the Whomp King. It is the second course in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, it can be accessed via a painting on the first floor of Princess Peach's Castle. Only one Power Star is needed to unlock the door to the room containing the painting.

Geography
Whomp's Fortress is a large, tall stone fortress populated by Whomps, Thwomps, and Piranha Plants. The player starts off in a field area at the base of the fortress. The tree at the start of the level also contains Hoot during certain missions. At the top of the nearby ramp they're some moving bars that will try to shove the player off the ledge. After those, there's a couple of Thwomps guarding a set of stairs to the upper area. Near the Thwomps is a warp that will take the player further up the fortress. The path splits at the top of the stairs, with the ramp going downward, leading to a pool of water, a Bob-omb Buddy and a cannon, and a small area with some Goombas, and the right path leading to the top of the fortress and containing Piranha Plants, Whomps, and both a falling and turning bridge. At the top of the fortress is the Whomp King, though during only the first mission. Every other mission has a tall tower with receding steps at the top of the fortress. Above the course are several platforms that can be reached either by using Hoot to fly up there or by knocking over a board at the top of the fortress.

Missions

 * 1) CHIP OFF WHOMP'S BLOCK
 * 2) TO THE TOP OF THE FORTRESS
 * 3) SHOOT INTO THE WILD BLUE
 * 4) RED COINS ON THE FLOATING ISLE
 * 5) FALL ONTO THE CAGED ISLAND
 * 6) BLAST AWAY THE WALL

Whomp's Fortress' 1-Up
On the tower that appears on every star aside from Chip Off Whomp's Block, a 1-up can be found hidden within the tower by breaking away at the wall. This 1-up went unnoticed by many players, leading many to believe this is an effect of the Personalization AI.

Main Article: Whomp's Fortress Interior
Despite being called a fortress, strangely, there is no way to actually enter the fortress, as neither the fortress created after collecting the 'Chip Off Whomp's Block' star or the large structure on the stage itself can be entered. Despite this, some players claim that they can enter the fortress in certain personalized copies of the game.

It's also possible that entering Whomp's Fortress could be confused with the Flying Fortress course, as the player is able to enter a tower seen on the top of the course.