El Morro: Old San Juan's Must-See Attraction
Written: Jan 26 '07 (Updated Jan 26 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful historic fort, ocean setting, tranquil and empty in the early morning
Cons: Unimpressive museum exhibits
The Bottom Line: Both adults and children will love El Morro.
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| chelledun's Full Review: Fuerte San Felipe del Morro, Puerto Rico |
If you spend even a couple hours touring the Old San Juan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico, a stop at Fuerte de San Felipe del Morro is an absolute must. This popular attraction marked the highlight of my tour of the area with mr_chelledun, despite the rainy and ridiculously unpleasant weather during our exploration. Let’s just call this place El Morro instead of its unwieldy full title as we delve into its interesting features.
General Information
Governed by the United States National Park Service, El Morro is part of a World Heritage site which includes various fortifications and city walls of San Juan. This particular fort played a key role in Spanish protection of its Caribbean colonies up through the Spanish-American War. El Morro can be found on the very northwestern tip of Old San Juan, overlooking San Juan Bay. It is a short (but uphill) walk from most portions of the Old San Juan area.
Visitors can walk around the city walls and grounds surrounding the fortification at all times. However, the fort itself can only be entered from 9:00 a.m. to either 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., depending on the season. On the day we visited, the fort didn’t actually open until a little after nine but I still recommend visiting early to have the fort virtually to yourselves, before cruise ship excursions overwhelm the facilities. A ticket for El Morro alone costs $3, a ticket that includes also Fuerte de San Cristobal goes for $5.00. If you have a full day or more in Old San Juan try to visit both. If you have only a couple of hours free we found El Morro the more interesting of the two. Allow about an hour for your visit to the fort.
Fuerte de San Felipe del Morro
We approached the fort at 8:30 a.m. on a rainy, cloudy San Juan day. As unpleasant as being soaking wet was, the atmosphere actually added a sense of history and foreboding to our first views of the court. Although we had each been to San Juan previously neither of us had ever toured El Morro or really gotten close to it. The dark stone building looks sturdy and significant, and we enjoyed walking around the fortress walls and taking photos during the half hour before the site opened.
Inside the fort, a courtyard painted deep yellow offers entrance to a variety of small rooms. Some of these contain artifacts and displays such as cannons, some printed material, and one a gift store. All offer wonderful ocean views and photo opportunities. We worked our way through the exhibits of photographs and pictures, weaving in and out as quickly as possible to avoid the pouring rain. My favorite exhibit was a 15 minute informational film which gave an excellent historical overview of the fort. Everything written in the fort is available in both Spanish and English, and film showings alternate languages. Displays at El Morro are sort of low tech, but the fort is sort of old and leaky so I’m not sure that it will ever support typical museum-quality exhibits.
After exploring the rooms in the courtyard, we made our way to the fort’s exterior. I am actually amazed how much you can climb around all over the fortification. The fort has a huge amount of stairways and ramps, things to step up on to get a view, little tunnels a very small person could climb through, and the like. I would think it would be pretty to lose a kid here, so either keep a close eye out or encourage them to run along and play, depending on your goals. Wandering the fort is not for the mobility challenged – on the wet and slipper day we visited, I even had trouble getting up one of the steep ramps. Really, though, this is what made our visit so much fun! El Morro allows you not only to see history but to scramble all over it, making it a nice change from stuffy museums with “please do not touch” engraved every three feet. We got wonderful ocean pictures and a good dose of exercise during our tour. Printed plaques help to identify islands in the distance and learn what various sections of the fort were used for in the past.
Facilities at El Morro
On the day we visited, the restrooms facilities at El Morro were being renovated. BUMMER! Once you’re up to the fort, there is really nothing to be done except wait until you finish touring and then find a shop or bar back down the hill in Old San Juan. Hopefully this construction project will finish soon.
We visited the small gift shop in the fort’s interior courtyard. The store sells basic postcards, photographs, stuffed animals, and the like. Souvenirs are both El Morro-specific and representative of Puerto Rico in general.
Overall…
If you’re in San Juan, Fuerte de San Felipe del Morro should not be missed. I love the fort’s beautiful ocean setting and the opportunity visitors are given to climb and explore. Try to arrive at El Morro early in the day, so you can enjoy it in as much peace and tranquility as we did. Don’t go to experience history in a museum setting, go to dig into it and enjoy the fort’s atmosphere.
*Check out my review of Old San Juan for other great things to do!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
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