The Forts of Old San Juan!

February 19, 2016 by nikirath 18 Comments

A photographer’s delight, San Juan in Puerto Rico holds a very long and enchanting history. A tropical hub of forts, jungles and beaches, Puerto Rico is a chain of islands in the Caribbean deserves to be in every traveler’s bucket list.

On our first day, we explored the old city of San Juan by foot and visited the national historic sites of the city. The two castles stand proudly in the heart of the island about a mile apart from each other for hundreds of years now. Our first stop was the Castillo San Cristobal Fort. The dome shaped stone walls in every corner looked marvelous with the backdrop of the dark blue Atlantic ocean. The fort was originally created by Spanish rulers to protect their land of San Juan. It is very commendable that the strongly built tunnels, walls and canons are well preserved for decades of years now.

Dome Shaped Stone Walls

Atlantic Ocean Coast

Interior of the Fort

Castillo San Cristóbal

Castillo San Cristóbal

We then walked towards the San Felipe del Morro Fort which was about twenty minutes walk along the coast from the San Cristobal Fort. We enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the tourists flying large colorful kites in the park. The castle is surrounded by the colonial-era cemetery Santa María Magdalena de Pazzison on one side and a gorgeous pebble walk way on the other. We relaxed by the park for quite some time and relished delicious mango coconut ice cream on the way back as it was a beautiful sunny day in the middle of February. I truly loved the spectacular tropical city of San Juan and would recommend it to all the avid travelers who would like to explore a historical yet serene city.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Bird Eye View

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery

Dome Shaped Stone Walls

Pebble Walk Way

Interiors of the Fort