Fortaleza del Real Felipe

18th-century coastal fortress at the port of Callao

The Fortaleza del Real Felipe, at the port of Callao about half an hour west of central Lima, was the largest Spanish military installation in the Americas. Begun in 1747 after a tsunami destroyed the previous Callao defenses, it is a vast pentagonal stone fortress with five bastions, designed to mount nearly 200 cannons against pirate and naval attacks.

The fortress has been continuously garrisoned since it opened. Today, Peruvian Army museum tours wind through casemates, the Torreón del Rey central keep, and the chambers where royalist forces made their final stand in 1826. The Callao district outside the walls can be dangerous; visit by taxi or organised tour and do not wander.

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A story
The Fortaleza was the last royalist stronghold in South America after Peruvian independence — Spanish forces held out behind its walls until January 1826, four and a half years after San Martín had declared independence in Lima.