Lighthouses of Portugal: Madeira

The Madeira Islands are located in the eastern Atlantic Ocean about 870 km (540 mi) southwest of Lisbon, Portugal and about 580 km (360 mi) west of the coast of Morocco. The group includes one large island, the Ilha de Madeira, and a number of smaller islands. The islands were visited by Roman sailors and perhaps by the Phoeniceans, but there was no regular contact with Europe until Madeira was rediscovered and named by Portuguese navigators in 1418. The islands have been Portuguese ever since. In 1974 they became an autonomous region of Portugal. The Portuguese word for a lighthouse is farol, plural faróis. Lighthouses in Portugal are owned by the navy (Marinha de Portugal) and operated by the navy's lighthouse directorate (Direcção de Faróis). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113. General Sources Online List of Lights - Madeira Photos by Helmut Seger posted by Alexander Trabas. Faróis de Portugal Portuguese Wikipedia article on the country's lighthouses. Near the bottom of the page are links to pages for the individual lighthouses. The photos are also available in Wikimedia's Lighthouses in Portugal category. Leuchttürme Portugals auf historischen Postkarten Historic postcard images collected by Klaus Huelse. Ilhas Selvagens Lighthouses Note: The Ilhas Selvagens (Salvage Islands) are an archipelago of small islands located 280 km (175 mi) south of the Ilha da Madeira and 165 km (105 mi) north of the Canary Islands. The islands are uninhabited and have been a protected nature reserve since 1971. Selvagem Grande 1977. Active; focal plane 163 m (535 ft); white flash every 4 s. 10 m (33 ft) round cylindrical tower, flared at the top and bottom and painted with red and white horizontal bands. Amateur radio operator CQ3E has a closeup photo, a distant photo is available, but Google has only a distant satellite view of the island. Located atop the Pico de Atalaia, on the west coast of Ilha Selvagem Grande, largest of the Ilhas Selvagens. Site and tower closed; special permission is needed to visit the island. Site manager: Reserva Natural das Ilhas Selvagens. ARLHS MAD-011; Admiralty D2768; NGA 23776.

Farol da Ponta do Pargo, Madeira, March 2010 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Hansueli Krapf

Ilhas Desertas Lighthouses

Note: The Ilhas Desertas are a string of three rocky islands southeast of the Ilha de Madeira. The islands are uninhabited and have been a protected nature reserve since 1990. [Ponta da Agulha (Ilhéu de Bugio) (2)] 2003 (station established 1961). Active; focal plane 72 m (236 ft); white flash every 4 s. 8 m (26 ft) round fiberglass tower; 300 mm lens. No photo of the new tower is available, but Google has a satellite view. The original lighthouse was a 14 m (46 ft) hexagonal concrete tower with lantern and gallery. In the 1990s this lighthouse was found to be in very poor condition, so in July 2003 it was imploded and replaced. Located near the southeastern tip of the Ilhéu de Bugio, southernmost of the three Ilhas Desertas. Site and tower closed; special permission is needed to visit the island. Site manager: Reserva Natural das Ilhas Desertas. ARLHS MAD-007; Admiralty D2722; NGA 23752. Ilhéu do Chão 1959. Active; focal plane 112 m (367 ft); two long (2 s) white flashes every 15 s. 14 m (46 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, centered on a 1-story square concrete equipment room. Entire lighthouse painted white. Thanks to Stefan Leitner for contributing the photo at right. The island is barely visible in Google's satellite view. Located at the northern tip of the Ilhas Desertas, about 25 km (15 mi) southeast of the São Laurenço lighthouse. Site and tower closed; special permission is needed to visit the island. Site manager: Reserva Natural das Ilhas Desertas. ARLHS MAD-001; Admiralty D2720; NGA 23748.

Farol da Ilhéu do Chão photo copyright C. Voigt and S. Leitner; used by permission

Ilha da Madeira Lighthouses
Note: The island of Madeira is oriented east and west; it is about 130 km (80 mi) long and roughly 50 km (30 mi) wide.

São Lourenço

1870. Active; focal plane 103 m (338 ft); white flash every 5 s. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal cylindrical stone tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a 1-story stone keeper's complex; 400 mm acrylic lens. Building painted white with unpainted dark stone trim; lantern painted red. The unpainted trim on the light tower gives the appearance, from a distance, of black and white vertical stripes. Seger and Trabas have a view from the sea, Vitor Oliveira has a very distant view, Lighthouse Explorer has a historic postcard view contributed by Michel Forand, Klaus Huelse has the same postcard view, and Google has a good satellite view. This lighthouse, the oldest in Madeira, stands atop a spectacular conical mountain (an extinct volcano). Located on the Ilhéu de São Lourenço, a small island off the eastern tip of the Ilha de Madeira. Accessible only by boat, and the island is a restricted natural area. Site and tower closed. Site manager: Reserva Natural da Ponta de São Laurenço. ARLHS MAD-004; Admiralty D2726; NGA 23740.

* Funchal Breakwater

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); red flash every 5 s. 6 m (20 ft) round concrete tower with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. A closeup photo is available, C.W. Bash also has a photo, a 2011 closeup is available, and Google has a satellite view. Funchal, on the south coast, is the capital and chief port of Madeira. Located at the end of the breakwater in Funchal. Accessible by walking the pier. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS MAD-013; Admiralty D2738; NGA 23728.

* Câmara de Lobos (2) 1937 (station established 1920s?). Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); red light, 4 s on, 2 s off. 5 m (17 ft) square concrete equipment room with gallery; the light is displayed from a short mast on the roof. Building painted white; the mast has a red horizontal band. C.W. Bash has posted a photo, another view also shows the site, and Google has a satellite view. Located atop a vertical volcanic dike adjacent to the main pier at Câmara de Lobos, a village about 8 km (5 mi) west of Funchal on the south coast of the island. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS MAD-015; Admiralty D2744; NGA 23724. * Ribeira Brava Date unknown (1920s?). Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); red flash every 5 s. 6 m (20 ft) square cylindrical tower; the light is shown from a projecting "bay window" enclosure near the top of the tower. Lighthouse painted red with white trim. Wikimedia has several good photos, Seger and Trabas have a distant photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located atop a sharp promontory west of the harbor but east of the downtown area of Ribeira Brava, about 16 km (10 mi) west of Funchal. Site status unknown, but the lighthouse is easily viewed from below. ARLHS MAD-014; Admiralty D2746; NGA 23720. * Ponta do Pargo 1922. Active; focal plane 312 m (1024 ft); three white flashes every 20 s. 14 m (46 ft) square masonry tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a U-shaped 1-story keeper's complex. 2nd order Fresnel lens. Building painted white with black trim; lantern painted red. A photo appears at the top of this page, Seger and Trabas have an excellent photo, H.H. Schueller has posted a good closeup photo, and Google has a fine satellite view. This is Madeira's best-known lighthouse by far, and also one of the highest lighthouses in the world. It commands a spectacular view westward over the Atlantic. Located on the western tip of the island; accessible by road. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS MAD-005; Admiralty D2752; NGA 23712.

Farol de São Jorge, March 2010 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Hansueli Krapf

* São Jorge

1959. Active; focal plane 271 m (889 ft); white light, 2 s on, 3 s off. 14 m (46 ft) round concrete tower with eight ribs, lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-story keeper's complex, Tower is unpainted white concrete; lantern dome painted red. A photo by Hansueli Krapf is above, Stefan Pajko has a closeup, another photo is available, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse appears to share its design with the Carapacho, Ponta da Garça, and Ponta do Cintrão lighthouses in the Azores. Located high atop the Ponta de São Jorge on the central north coast of the Ilha da Madeira. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS MAD-008; Admiralty D2755; NGA 23744.

Ilha da Porto Santo Lighthouses
Note: Porto Santo is an inhabited island, 11 km (7 mi) long and 6 km (3.5 mi) wide, about 50 km (30 mi) northeast of the Ilha de Madeira. A popular resort destination, the island is accessible by air or by ferry from Funchal, Ilha da Madeira.

Ilhéu de Ferro 1959. Active; focal plane 130 m (427 ft); white light, 3 s on, 12 s off. 14 m (46 ft) round cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-story keeper's house. Building painted white. Wikimedia has a photo and a distant view by Rui Branco, the lighthouse can be glimpsed in a distant view by Giacomo Caironi and in a second view, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a small island off the southwestern tip of the Ilha de Porto Santo. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS MAD-002; Admiralty D2762; NGA 23768. Porto Santo North Mole Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); red flash every 4 s. 8 m (26 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Don Amaro's photo is at right, and Seger and Trabas have a distant photo, but the tower is hard to find in a Google satellite view. Located at the end of the north (really the west) mole of the new Vila Baleira harbor of Porto Santo. Site status unknown. Admiralty D2757.2; NGA 23765. Porto Santo South Mole Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); green flash every 4 s. 9 m (30 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, painted with green and white horizontal bands. Seger and Trabas have a distant photo, but Google's satellite view does not show the tower clearly. Located at the end of the south mole of the new Vila Baleira harbor of Porto Santo. Site status unknown. Admiralty D2757; NGA 23766. Ilhéu de Cima 1900. Active; focal plane 124 m (407 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 15 m (49 ft) square masonry tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a U-shaped 1-story keeper's house. Building painted white with gold trim; lantern painted brown. Rui Branco has a 2009 photo, amateur radio operator CT9P has a good photo, Vitor Oliveira has a very distant view of the lighthouse perched atop the island, and Google has a good satellite view. The Ilhéu de Cima is a small (but high) island off the northeast coast of the Ilha de Porto Santo, helping to shelter Porto Santo's harbor of Vila Baleira. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS MAD-006; Admiralty D2756; NGA 23756.

Porto Santo North Mole Light, June 2005 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Don Amaro

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

• Caniçal Marina, near the eastern end of the Ilha de Madeira, has an octagonal lighthouse, but we don't know if it is active. Google has a satellite view.

Adjoining pages: North: Azores | East: Southern Portugal

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Posted January 4, 2006. Checked and revised January 10, 2012. Lighthouses: 13. Site copyright 2012 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.