Castillo San Cristóbal
Castillo San Cristóbal is a sprawling Spanish fortress at the eastern edge of Old San Juan, built to protect the city from land attacks coming from the east. Construction began in the 1600s and continued for more than a century, shaping it into a multi level defensive system that is often described as the largest fortress built in the Americas.
Inside, the design is all layers and angles: thick ramparts, dry moats, tunnels, gun positions, and lookout points that control both the land approach and the Atlantic side. The scale is easy to miss from the streets outside, but once you are on the walls and moving through the corridors, it feels like a full military landscape built into the city.
Today, San Cristóbal is part of San Juan National Historic Site, alongside Castillo San Felipe del Morro, preserving the fortifications that defined San Juan for centuries. These photos follow our walk through the stonework, the shadows, the open sky, and the long views that still make this place feel both imposing and precise.
