Fortress of San Fernando

About this place

The Fortress of San Fernando is a Spanish colonial fort in the town of Omoa, near the Caribbean coast of northern Honduras. It is described as the largest military fortress built in Central America and remains fairly intact, with dark walls of brick and coral and green lawns, among the most important historic sites in the country. Sources differ on whether building began in 1756, 1759 or 1768, and it finished in 1775, to protect Omoa bay and the silver trade from pirates. British ships captured it in October 1779, and the Spanish forced them out weeks later. It was among Spain's last strongholds, falling in 1821, and Honduras later used it as a prison. It became a national monument on 11 May 1959. You pass a gate in a long low wall into a grassy court ringed by stone buildings. Inside are arched warehouses, a chapel entrance and a vaulted store stacked with cannonballs. From the terraces you see the guns and the mountains behind the fort. The site's museum holds a model of the fort, armour and weapons, with an old locomotive beside the building. The fortress is 30.5 km in a straight line north of San Pedro Sula. Arrange transport from the city, as UK advice warns against walking around main towns, and take care in isolated places. It is hot and humid, so bring water and a hat. Do not climb the old walls, and watch children at the high edges.