This imposing coffee-colored shoulder of rock looms 110m over the city. It makes a great place to get your bearings, with vulture-eye views of the city, port and Pacific Ocean. This lofty headland was the site of a crucial battle in 1880, a year into the War of the Pacific, when the Chilean army assaulted and took El Morro from Peruvian forces in less than an hour.
The hilltop is accessible by car or taxi (CH$4000 round-trip with a 30-minute wait), or by a steep footpath from the south end of Calle Colón. The story of El Morro is told step by step in the flag-waving Museo Histórico y de Armas, which has information in Spanish and English.