Torreón Los Canelos, Spanish colonial fort in Valdivia, Chile.

Torreón Los Canelos is a cylindrical brick tower at the intersection of General Lagos and Yerbas Buenas streets in Valdivia. Its base measures 5.9 m in diameter and its walls are about 1.25 m thick, built of fired brick from the Valenzuela factory (now Teja Island) with lime mortar. A stone band runs around the upper half, and rectangular openings and a vertical slit are cut below the flat top.

The tower was projected in 1678 by engineer Juan Garland as part of Valdivia's defensive network, and built in 1774 under Governor Joaquín de Espinoza y Dávalos. It was erected alongside the Torreón del Barro to complete the fortifications. In 1926 it was declared a National Monument; today it and the Picarte tower are the only intact remains of the old fortification.

The tower stands at the old southern entrance to Valdivia, at General Lagos and Yerbas Buenas streets, and is known as Los Canelos; a related name, Cantarranas, also circulates. It keeps its lime-and-sand exterior stucco and the single stone band around its upper half. Since 1926 it has been a National Monument, and a restoration project with the Torreón del Barro links the two by urban information markers.

You can reach the tower by walking south from Plaza de la República along General Lagos or Vicente Pérez Rosales Street. The location is in central Valdivia and is easily accessible on foot.

Over the centuries, the tower served many purposes: as a high-security prison, justice pillory, windmill, and gunpowder storage. This varied use shows how colonial structures adapted to changing needs.