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Great Siege Tunnels

Gun galleries hacked through solid rock with hand tools and gunpowder, 1779–83.

4.1 / 5the Nature Reserve pass, from 504 reviewsHow we score

1 hour1 of 17 on the Nature Reserve ticket →

During the Great Siege of 1779 to 1783, the garrison needed to place guns on the sheer north face where no gun could be mounted. The answer was to tunnel through the limestone with sledgehammers, crowbars and gunpowder, cutting embrasures as they went.

The result is a series of galleries with cannon still in position, looking straight out over the isthmus towards Spain. It remains one of the more extraordinary pieces of military engineering anywhere in Europe, and it was done by hand in under four years.

Our tip

This and the WWII Tunnels are two different tunnel systems, dug 160 years apart, and they are often confused. If you only have time for one, this is the older and stranger.

Where this rating comes from

This is the rating for the ticket, not for this site on its own.

4.1out of 5 for the Nature Reserve pass on GetYourGuide, from 504 reviews, shown unchanged

Great Siege Tunnels is not sold or reviewed separately anywhere we can licence, so it carries no score of its own — and we would rather show you nothing than invent one. What we can tell you is how people rate the ticket that admits you to it, which is the thing you actually buy.

The facts

Excavated: 1779–1783, during the Great Siege
Method: Hand tools and gunpowder
Purpose: Gun positions on the sheer north face

What we read

Great Siege Tunnels — Gibraltar Nature Reserve

One ticket · 17 sites

Also in the Nature Reserve

Your ticket covers all of these, not just this one. There is nothing further to buy once you are through the gate.

Plan a route through the reserve →

Around £45 per adult · under 5 free. What the ticket covers