The cannon
On wooden carriages.
Sangianense — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sangianense — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sangianense — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sangianense — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sangianense — CC BY-SA 4.0
Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, also called Castillo del Morro, is a stone fortress on the coast of Santiago de Cuba, overlooking the entrance to its bay. It lies about 10 km south-west of the city centre. UNESCO listed it in 1997 as the best preserved and most complete example of Spanish-American military architecture. A ravelin and battery went up here between 1590 and 1610 to protect the town. Battista Antonelli then designed a larger fort in the early 1600s, for the governor Pedro de la Roca de Borja, as a defence against raiding pirates. It was built on terraces, with four main levels and three large bulwarks. The citadel took 62 years to build, from 1638 to 1700. You climb from a narrow bridge through a series of yards, with thick stone walls partly cut into the rock. At the top are old cannon on wooden carriages, small domed sentry towers and an old well with an iron frame. From the walls you see the blue Caribbean on one side and Santiago Bay on the other, with mountains behind the green coast. It is about 7 km from Santiago's cathedral in a straight line, so take a taxi and agree the return. There are many steps, so it is less suited to older visitors, and parts of the walls have no railing. The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Cuba because of fuel, power and water shortages, so read the current advice before you plan. It also says electricity and water remain severely affected in the east after Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.
On wooden carriages.
Small and domed.
Sea and mountains.
Mouth of Santiago Bay, south-west of the city, Cuba
By taxi from central Santiago, and do not rely on public transport with fuel shortages.
Yes, with care, as parts of the walls have no railing and the steps are many.