15 lighthouses you should visit in SpainDo you dare to complete this route? Lighthouses have always attracted me, they seem to me to be somewhat romantic constructions, like faithful custodians of the coasts, eternal viewpoints of the sea and its dangers.
The truth is that Spain has many historic lighthouses, with fabulous stories and built in places of great natural beauty. I invite you to take a tour of the most special lighthouses in the country.
Why visit a lighthouse?
I was thinking about an answer to this question, and the truth is that there are some answers, not just one. The combination that a lighthouse is "a place to live" and at the same time "a place with a very specific function», leads to many interesting options in lighthouse architecture.
For example, many of them have been built at the end of the 19th century, and that, today, opens a window to the industrial architecture from that time. And at the same time, who can deny that lighthouse romance when you see them away from everything?
Visiting a lighthouse is also a window to the past in terms of architecture, engineering, technology and the future of a job, that of lighthouse keeper (the person who lived and operated the lighthouse), already in extinction, if not extinct.
What lighthouses can be visited in Spain?
First we must remember that Spain has thousands and thousands of kilometers of coastline and for that reason, many lighthouses. These watchers of the sea sometimes rise in incredible landscapes and their light illuminates the closed sky of marine nights.
Let us now see the 15 lighthouses you should visit in Spain.
Finisterre
this lighthouse It is the westernmost lighthouse in Europe and it is located at the point where man once thought the world ended, Cape Finisterre. It is one of the most popular lighthouses of all and those who walk the Camino de Santiago usually arrive here as the end point of their long walk.
The cape is in A Coruña, on the coast of Galicia. It was built in 1853, is made of granite, and measures 17 meters high. It is an octagonal tower with a balcony and the lantern is in the caretaker's house. Today it is electrified and Its light has a focal height of 143 meters and a radius of 23 nautical miles.
Formentor
this lighthouse It is in Cape Formentor, on the island of Mayorca. This is the tallest lighthouse in the Balearic Islands and was built in 1853. It is a structure of masonry, 22 meters high with cylindrical shape and double balcony.
It is white and the flashlight is gray, with a focal height of 210 meters and a range of 24 nautical miles. It is also electrified.
Chipiona Lighthouse
On our list of 15 lighthouses to visit in Spain It is followed by the Chipiona Lighthouse, in the province of Cadiz. It has a height of 62 meters and thus, it ranks 17th on the list of tallest lighthouses in the world. It is indeed, the highest in Spain.
This lighthouse is in Punta del Perro, an extension, a tongue of land that slides into the Atlantic Ocean in the city of Chipiona, about 6 kilometers southwest of the entrance to the Guadalquivir. In Roman times there was already a lighthouse here and it seems that it was as superb as that of the city of Alexandria. It was built in the year 140 BC by order of the consul Quintos Servilius Caepio, to warn about the Salmedina reef, at the mouth of the then Betis river, today Guadalquivir.
The Torre de Caepio, drifts in Chipiona... The truth is that This modern lighthouse we see today was built in 1862. The engineer was Jaime Font, Catalan. It is 62 meters high, cylindrical in shape and has a balcony. It's not painted so it's half grey, white. The light has a focal height of 226 meters and a range of 25 nautical miles. The light emits a white flash every 10 seconds.
Tours are available To know this lighthouse and it is recommended, you must climb 344 steps to the balcony, but the view is great.
Trafalgar Lighthouse
This lighthouse was built in the second half of the 19th century but was renovated in the first half of the following century, including its exterior covering and optical apparatus. The lighthouse It is 34 meters high and is a monumental white tower.
It is in the town of Barbate, in Cádiz, on the shores of the gulf, and its light has a focal height of 51 meters, with a range of 22 nautical miles.
Cap de Barbaria Lighthouse
In Spanish its name is Faro del Cabo de BarberÃa, and it is built at the southernmost point of the Balearic Islands, on the well-known and super touristic island of Formentera. The cape is thus the southernmost point of the Balearic Islands and the point that is closest to the African coast.
Today the lighthouse It is the classic postcard of Formentera and for several reasons. One, the road that leads to it, from Sant Francesc de Formentera, is a paved and narrow but super beautiful road. The lighthouse appears in the distance like a finger rising, between pine trees and the sea.
The lighthouse It is built on top of a vertical cliff of almost one hundred meters, so imagine that! There is aridity, yes, but what beauty! Then, if you walk a little further, about 150 meters to the west, you will see the Garroveret Tower, an ancient defensive tower that protected the island from pirates. Another interesting place is the Cova Foradada, a small hole in the ground through which you pass to a fantastic grotto whose balcony overlooks the sea.
The Cap de Barbaria lighthouse is the same one from the movie Lucia and sex and it is an excellent place to contemplate the sun. Data: It was built in the '70s of the XNUMXth century, faces the Mediterranean, has a white light that emits two flashes every 15 seconds and has a range of 20 nautical miles.
Fuencaliente Lighthouse
This lighthouse is in island of Palma, in the Canary Islands. Originally the works began in 1882 and finished in 1898, but it entered service in 1903. After It was replaced in 1985. It is at the southern end of the island, about 13 kilometers south of Los Canarios.
You can get there by road and although you cannot enter the tower you can visit the place and there is space to park your car. The tower is 12 meters and is cylindrical, with a caretaker's house made of stone. It was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1939 and hence the concrete reconstruction.
Everything was renovated in the '80s of the last century: the old structures were preserved but new ones were built and the same was restored between 2001 and 2004. A Interpretation Center for visitors, in the caretaker's old house.
Today the lighthouse is 24 meters high, is white with two red bands and the light has a focal height of 36 meters above sea level, flashing every 18 seconds with a range of 14 nautical miles.
St. Catherine's Lighthouse
This is a lighthouse that is on the cape of the same name, in Lequeitio, in Vizcaya, Basque Country. It was inaugurated in 1862 and then it had an oil lamp that later was oil until its final electrification in 1957.
This It is the first visitable lighthouse in Euskadi and today you can learn a lot about lighthouses and navigation technology in the interpretation center which works there. You can even experience a virtual journey from Lekeitio to Elantxobe, to put basic navigation techniques into practice, to experience what it is like to be lost at sea and suddenly see the light of a friendly lighthouse.
Visits are 19 people per time, and in high season it opens from 11:30 am to 1 pm and from 4:30 to 6 pm. The visit is 50 minutes.
Tower of Hercules
This tower has been known since the 1st century and It is speculated that it was built or rebuilt under Trajan, very possibly on another construction of Phoenician origin. The original plan is that of the Alexandria lighthouse. It was thus built on a peninsula two and a half kilometers from the center of the Coruña, in Galicia.
It is the oldest lighthouse and until the 20th century it was known by the name Farum Brigantium. You have 55 meters high and look at the northern coast of Spain, on the Atlantic. Around it there is a sculpture garden with works by Francisco Leiro and Pablo Serrano. The lighthouse is National Monument and World Heritagel since 2009. Even with his years It is the second highest lighthouse in Spain, behind the Chipiona Lighthouse.
Punta Cumplida Lighthouse
This lighthouse is on the island of Palma, in the Canary Islands, and belongs to the municipality of Barlovento. Holds the title of being the fourth oldest lighthouse on La Palma and is located at the northern end of the island, while the rest occupies the other cardinal points.
The lighthouse entered service in 1867 and architecturally it is similar to any other 19th century lighthouse in the area: volcanic rock in the construction, dark, the caretaker's house very simple, the tower is cylindrical with galleries and the lantern above, although it originally had Fresnel lenses. In 1982 the height was added and today the lighthouse measures 34 meters.
In 2017 the intention was announced to renovate the old structures and create a tourist attraction. Since 2011 the lighting is LED. It has a focal height of 63 meters and a range of 24 nautical miles. And today you can sleep in it. Wow!
Cape Home Lighthouse
In the province of Pontevedra, south of Cangas de Morrazo, is this lighthouse, on Cape Home. Or, more than a lighthouse, a beacon that, next to the Punta Subrido lighthouse, marks the entrance to the Vigo estuary.
The beacon is a cylindrical tower 19 meters high, built at the western tip of the cape, about eight kilometers from Cangas de Morrazo and just 815 meters from the lighthouse we mentioned above.
Its light has a range of 14 kilometers and the focal height is 38. You can arrive by car and visit the surrounding beaches, which are very beautiful.
Garlic Lighthouse
This lighthouse is in Cantabria, at Cape Ajo, and it is the last lighthouse that was built in this part of Spain. The old lighthouse was inaugurated in 1930 and in 1985 it was demolished to make way for a new construction.
The old lighthouse was electrified in the '60s, but in the '80s it was necessary to change it for a taller one with better lighting. Since 2015, the lighthouse and its surroundings have been open to the public. and they receive many visitors. In 2020, the Cantabrian artist Okuda San Miguel painted it, and although there was criticism, it will remain like this for about eight years and it will most likely be white again afterwards.
Getaria Lighthouse
On Basque Country, in the province of Guipúzcoa, there is this lighthouse. It stands in a place known as Ratón de Guetaria and Its origins date back to the construction of a hermitage dedicated to San Antón.
The lighthouse was built by Manuel Estibaus and operated from 1863. It has a machine room, bathroom, kitchen, three bedrooms to accommodate more than one lighthouse keeper, person who tends the lighthouse, and a vestibule.
The light from this lighthouse has a range of 21 nautical miles and a focal height of 93 meters.
Horse Lighthouse
El Horse Lighthouse is in Cantabria, in the town of Santoña, but It has not worked since the '90s of the XNUMXth century. It stands at the foot of the cliffs of Mount Bucieror, right at the entrance to Santoña Bay, so getting there is quite difficult and you have to climb a 763-step staircaseIt's nothing more and nothing less.
The lighthouse keeper's building has already been demolished and has been the lighthouse tower, cylindrical in shape, with the lantern at the top, in the glass dometo. The focal height is 24 meters high, and the original flashlight worked with oil, then with a Maris light, then with acetylene gas and finally with a battery. When operating, it emitted four flashes every 14 seconds.
How many lighthouses are there in Spain?
We said at the beginning of our article that Spain has thousands and thousands of kilometers of coastline, and along them there is a whole system of lighthouses that helped and still help the boats to orient themselves better and avoid dangers.
In Spain, according to the Ministry of Culture, There are 191 lighthouses that fulfill their function. Some work well, others are being prepared for tourism, others are Industrial Heritage, so thinking about a catalog is complex.
Are there active lighthouses in Spain?
Of course yes. Almost all of those we have named in our article today are acting lighthouses.. The old flashlights have been supplanted by modern and better lenses and the systems have been electrified.
190 lighthouses, although the number of lighthouse keepers is much smaller. It is believed that there are not much more than 30 technicians, and it is common for a keeper, for example, to be in charge of several lighthouses. Of 190 lighthouses there are only 40 inhabited towers, for example, and when active it is calculated that There are no more than 50 lighthouse keepers.
The lighthouse keepers became extinct in the '90s of the XNUMXth century. Today the work of someone who works in a lighthouse is very different, it is no longer a physical job but rather a management and technological one. The automation It has made them on their way to disappear.