| Indonesia has been independent since 1945, after having been the Dutch East Indies for more than 350 years. It is a huge country, stretching along both sides of the Equator for more than 46 degrees of longitude (roughly 5100 km or 3200 miles). Comprised of some 17,000 islands (more than 6000 inhabited islands), it has hundreds of major aids to navigation. Unfortunately, we have no idea how many of these aids can be considered lighthouses. Information about them is scarce, and photos are even scarcer. Official light lists contain dozens of entries for "framework towers" and "white beacons," providing little guidance for the lighthouse fan. The island of Java (Jawa in Indonesian) is the heart of the country and home to 62% of the population. In fact, with more than 130 million residents it is the world's most populous island. This page includes lighthouses of eastern Java, including the provinces of Central Java and East Java and the Yogyakarta Special Region. The Indonesian word for a lighthouse is mercusuar or (in two words) mercu suar. The phrase menara suar, which includes the Arabic word menara, is sometimes used instead. Tanjung and ujung are words for capes, pulau is an island, selat is a strait, karang is a reef, and teluk is a harbor. The original Dutch names of historic lighthouses, if known, are shown in curly brackets {}. Aids to navigation in Indonesia are operated and maintained by the Indonesian Directorate of Marine Navigation (Indomarinav). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volumes F and K of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Central Java Province North Coast Lighthouses
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![]() West Outer Breakwater Light, Semarang, November 2010 Panoramio photo copyright James Arjuna; used by permission |
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East Java Province Lighthouses
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Yogyakarta Special Region Lighthouses
Central Java Province South Coast Lighthouses
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![]() Teluk Penyu Second Range Front Light, Cilacap, August 2010 Panoramio photo copyright Soga Soegiarto; permission requested |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Kalimantan (Borneo) | East: Bali | West: Western Java
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Posted April 13, 2006. Checked and revised January 6, 2013. Lighthouses: 54. Site copyright 2013 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.