San Lorenzo colonial fort
San Lorenzo's crumbling colonial fort is a Panama landmark and a powerful reminder of the fortifications the conquistadors built to defend their looted treasure from invading pirates. It stands sentinel over the mouth of the Ro Chagres from atop a rocky promontory. The well-preserved ruins attest to its importance throughout the Spanish colonial period. Its spectacular location, commanding views of both the brooding river and the glistening Caribbean, combined with its isolation and forest surroundings, make it far more evocative than the more accessible and more visited Portobelo fort, and you can have the place to yourself if you avoid the cruise ship tour groups – especially midweek during the rainy season.
The fort is located within the 120-square-kilometer (46-square-mile) Reserva Protegida San Lorenzo, which is home to a swath of secondary forest and swampland that is ideal for birdwatching. There are 435 species listed, some of which can be seen along the small trails in the woodland off the fort's entry road.
The initial sea-level earth-and-wood fort was built in 1595 to safeguard loot-laden Spanish ships sailing down the Chagres to Portobelo from foreign invasion. Though Francis Drake failed to capture the fort in 1596, one of Henry Morgan's privateers did so in 1670, allowing Morgan and his crew to sail up the river freely and demolish Panama City. In the 1680s, the fort was rebuilt in coral stone on its current cliff-top location, where it was eventually demolished by the British in 1740. The invasion was reportedly in retaliation for the wounding of a British merchant captain called Robert Jenkins by Spanish coastguards in what became known as the War of Jenkins' Ear. The fortifications at San Lorenzo were repaired and strengthened, but they were never actually put to the test again, even though they were employed as part of the US military defenses during World War II — observe the still prominent anti-aircraft platform next to the tower. Cross the drawbridge (not the original one) and enter the fort through the sleek, squat stone-and-brick guardhouse, which serves as the primary entrance.
Location: near the mouth of the Chagres River
