There are two famous forts in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico: Fort San Cristóbal and Fort San Felipe del Morro. As you approach Old San Juan from the south, you will come first to San Cristóbal, and then walking to the northmost tip, El Morro:

Fort San Cristóbal

The first fort you encounter into the city, Fort San Cristobal is actually build second, after el Morro, to defend the city of old San Juan from invaders coming by land from the South. Finished in 1783 it wrapped around the bottom mouth of the city, but in 1897 a large portion was demolished to ease traffic flow into the town.

San Cristobal Fort, a National Monument

As you step inside, the Fort opens into a large courtyard:

Interior of the San Cristobal Fort. Under this level are 5 giant water cisterns.

Walk up a level, and you have a great view of the rest of San Juan to the South:

Looking over the battlements

To the north are fantastic views of La Perla and El Morro:

Not to mention the crashing ocean waves

Fort San Felipe del Morro

Construction on the fort started in the mid 15th century to control the harbor, and continued over the next four centuries. With walls six metres thick in places, a lighthouse on top, El Morro has lasted unharmed through many wars and conflicts.

Main entrance to El Morro

Inside is an artillery firing position, and many levels of fort:

See the tracks to the left?

There are many famous sentry boxes:

Also called guerritas

The US military replaced the lighthouse with this one in 1908:

The old one was damaged in the Spanish-American war

Some cannons are left for tourists to photograph:

The larger cannonballs lying in stacks are actually mortar rounds

After you see El Morro, you can take a walk around the front down a paved street called Paseo del Morro, which offers a great view from below of the fort and its garritas. You will pass by or through the old San Juan gate, as well:

Many families and children stroll el paseo del Morro

One of the many guerritas along paseo del Morro:

You should take a photograph from the top, of yourself inside the guard box

More Puerto Rico

Check out these other posts in the Puerto Rico travelblog series:

• Travel Tips for Puerto Rico
• Old (viejo) San Juan
• Puerto Rico Museum of Art
• Puerto Rico Photos Album
• El Yunque Rainforest
• Bio Bay Kayaking in Laguna Grande
• Plaza Las Américas mall

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 26th, 2011 at 9:51 pm and is tagged with fort san cristobal, spanish american war, mortar rounds, san juan puerto rico, ocean waves, el morro, fort san felipe del morro, la perla, battlements, cannonballs, san felipe, traffic flow, national monument, 15th century, main entrance, large portion, cannons, sentry, old san juan, san juan puerto. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback.