San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

QUICKLINKS:

A World Heritage Site

San Juan National Historic Site includes forts San Cristóbal, San Felipe del Morro, and San Juan de la Cruz also called El Cañuelo, plus bastions, powder houses, and three fourths of the city wall. All these defensive fortifications surround the old, colonial portion of San Juan, Puerto Rico. El Cañuelo Fort is located at Isla de Cabras at the western end of the entrance to the San Juan Bay. These magnificent historic forts were built by Spanish troops beginning in 1539 with a tower at El Morro and La Fortaleza and took more that 250 years. Most of the walls we see today were added later in a period of tremendous construction from the 1760's -1780's.

		Educational Programs This free program is available to school groups throughout the school year. Rangers take participants back in time through educational activities and walks inside the forts. more...

		Annual Kite Festival Every year half a million people use the grounds of El Morro for picnics, sports and other activities. The National Park Service’s mission of preservation is challenged by damaging behavior of leaving literally tons of abandoned kites and food leftovers littering the historic grounds and walls. Through this event the NPS hopes to share and promote environmentally friendly ways to enjoy the park. more...

Volunteer

Do you like new experiences? Would you like to use your knowledge and skills to help protect a national treasure? Be a volunteer at San Juan National Historic Site!
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Write to

San Juan NHS
501 Norzagaray Street
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901

E-mail Us

Phone

Park Administration
(787) 729-6777

Fax

(787) 289-7972

Climate

Puerto Rico enjoys year round tropical climate. Winters are breeze and summers are mostly hot and humid. It rains all year long with a "dry" season in April. Temperatures range from 60's in the winter to 90's in the summer. The hurricane season starts in June and ends in November. On the longest day, June 22nd, the sun sets around 7:00pm. On the shortest day, December 22nd, the sun sets around 4:30pm.