Castillo San Lorenzo (Fort San Lorenzo) is a Spanish colonial fortress in a rainforest, sitting 80 feet high on a cliffside promontory. The fort is at the mouth of the Chagres River on Panama’s Caribbean coast, and provides great river and jungle views with glimpses of the Caribbean Sea. There once was a port town here called Chagres, but it is now abandoned. Of interest, Christopher Columbus “discovered” the Chagres River on his final journey to the Americas.
Castillo San Lorenzo was part of the Spanish fortifications on the Caribbean side of Panama. It was on the trade route that crossed the isthmus, through which large amounts of silver and gold were carried from Peru and elsewhere in South America to be shipped to Spain. The fortification was built to protect this source of Spanish riches.
The Spanish built their first fortifications here in the late 16th century. The site was chosen because of its strategic position and ability to guard the entrance to the Chagres River. The original fortifications were made of wood — easy to destroy — but later replaced by a more durable stone structure. Treasure was unloaded at Panama City on the Pacific side, carried overland by mules to the Chagres River, then boated downstream to the Caribbean Sea for shipment to Spain. The fort was largely built to protect Spanish loot from pirates and privateers.
Castillo San Lorenzo was attacked multiple times between the 16th and 18th century, including raids by Sir Francis Drake, Henry Morgan and his buccaneers, and British Admiral Edward Vernon. The final reversion of the fort (whose ruins visitors see today) was rebuilt in the 1760s. This iteration was never attacked as Spain had shifted to sailing around Cape Horn, greatly reducing the route’s and fort’s importance.
The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 for its role in illustrating 17th- and 18th-century Spanish military architecture.
The ruins show features classic of Spanish colonial military design — thick stone walls, ramparts, batteries (including an upper battery), cannon placements, etc. The site has been extensively restored (with restoration ongoing when we visited). You can walk along the walls, explore corridors and former gun positions (some with historic cannons), and see the dry moat area.
The tropical rainforest environment offers great opportunities for birdwatching and observing nature.
Last weekend’s One Clue Mystery photo (see below) featured a portion of the Castillo. As usual it was recognized by George G.
If You Visit:
The site is located about a 1.5 – 2 hour drive from Panama City (including a dramatic crossing of the Atlantic Bridge over the Panama Canal). You enter the protected area, pay a park admission fee, and register at a checkpoint. The fort is at the end of the road.
The site is easy to explore on foot. Guided tours are highly recommended to help you understand the layout and history of the site. Water and sun protection are important as it will be hot. Except for our group, we found site to be remarkably uncrowded.
