Lighthouses of Uruguay

The coastline of Uruguay curves westward from the Atlantic Ocean along the northern side of the great Río de la Plata embayment and estuary. Ship traffic is heavy along this coast, so to guard it a series of handsome masonry lighthouses were built during the late 1800s and early 1900s. These lighthouses remain in service, many of them still staffed. Seven of them are readily accessible along the well-populated coast. Active lighthouses in Uruguay are owned by the navy (Armada Nacional de Uruguay) and maintained by the Departamento de Ayudas a la Navegación. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 110. What's Hot:

Faro de Cabo Polonio, November 2006 Creative Commons photo by Matt Rubens

General Sources

Grant and Tracey's Lighthouse Page - Uruguay

Photos by Grant Maizels.

Online List of Lights - Uruguay

Photos posted by Alexander Trabas.

Lighthouses
Punta Palmar

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); white flash every 6 s. 12 m (39 ft) round "barbell" fiberglass tower, flared at top and bottom, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No lantern. Maizels has photos showing the site, and Google has a satellite view. Located off national route 9 about 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Castillos. Site and tower closed (surrounded by private property). ARLHS URU-013; Admiralty G0660; NGA 19020.

** Cabo Polonio

1881. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); white flash every 12 s. 26 m (85 ft) round brick tower with lantern and double gallery rising from 1-story keeper's house. Tower unpainted except for three narrow white horizontal bands; lantern and watch room painted with red and white vertical stripes. Sibling of the Faro José Ignacio. Matt Rubens's closeup photo appears above, and another good photo is available, and Google has a fine satellite view. This light station is staffed. The lighthouse marks a rocky point in an otherwise sandy area; nearby offshore are several islands with colonies of seals. The area was declared a national monument in 1976. There's no road access, but the light can be reached by hiking on the beach from nearby resorts. Guided tours are available. Located off national route 9 about 25 km (15 mi) south of Castillos. Site open; tower open for climbing on weekend and holiday late afternoons. Site manager: Monumento Nacional de Dunas. ARLHS URU-005; Admiralty G0662; NGA 19024.

** Cabo Santa Maria (La Paloma) 1874. Active; focal plane 42 m (137 ft); white flash every 60 s. 20 m (98 ft) round brick tower with lantern and gallery rising from 1-story keeper's house. Tower painted white; lantern and watch room painted with red and white vertical stripes. Mauro Bosagna's photo is at right, Ingo Wilges has a good 2008 photo, and Google has a satellite view. The light station is staffed, and it was declared a national historic monument in 1976. Located on the cape in the seaside resort of La Paloma, at the end of national route 15. Site open; tower open for climbing on weekend and holiday late afternoons. ARLHS URU-004; Admiralty G0668; NGA 19032. * Punta José Ignacio 1877. Active; focal plane 32 m (105 ft); white flash every 2 s. 25 m (82 ft) round brick tower with lantern and gallery rising from 1-story keeper's house. Tower unpainted except for three narrow white horizontal bands; lantern and watch room painted with red and white vertical stripes. Light station is staffed. Sergio Amosar has a good photo, Maizels has closeup photos, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a rocky point in a popular resort area on the coastal road (national route 10) about 55 km (35 mi) southwest of La Paloma. Site open, tower status uncertain. ARLHS URU-006; Admiralty G0672; NGA 19036. Isla de Lobos (2) 1907 (station established 1857). Active; focal plane 66 m (217 ft); white flash every 5 s; the tower also carries a continuous red light at a focal plane of 53 m (174 ft). 59 m (194 ft) round tapered concrete tower with lantern and gallery, mounted on a round stone base. Lighthouse painted white; base unpainted; lantern and watch room painted with red and white vertical stripes. A closeup photo (misidentified as "Punta Ballena") is available, Julieta Zubiri has a view from the sea, and Maizels has distant photos. The light station is staffed. Uruguay's tallest lighthouse, this is also one of the tallest concrete lighthouses in the world. Located on a small (36 ha, 90 acre) island about 13 km (8 mi) southeast of Punta del Este. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed (the island is a wildlife sanctuary protecting a huge colony of seals). ARLHS URU-002; Admiralty G0676; NGA 19040.

Faro de la Paloma, February 2007 Creative Commons photo by Mauro Bosagna

*** Punta del Este (2)

1923 (station established 1860). Active; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); white flash every 8 s. 25 m (82 ft) round brick tower with lantern and gallery rising from a 1-story keeper's house. Tower unpainted; lantern painted white with a red-and-white striped roof. An excellent photo is available, as well as a second photo, and Maizels also has good photos. The light station is staffed. The narrow peninsula of Punta del Este is the southernmost point of Uruguay; it encloses the east side of the Bahía de Maldonado and is the extreme eastern end of the Río de la Plata embayment and estuary. Located near the end of the peninsula in the resort city of Punta del Este; Google has a satellite view. Site open; the tower is reported to be open, but no schedule is available. ARLHS URU-008; Admiralty G0682; NGA 19044.

Isla de Flores 1828. Active; focal plane 37 m (121 ft); two white flashes, separated by 4 s, every 16 s. 19 m (64 ft) round old-style brick tower with lantern and gallery attached to a 1-story keeper's house. Tower painted white; lantern and watch room painted with red and white vertical stripes. A 2007 photo is available, Trabas has a distant photo, and Klaus Huelse has a historic postcard view. The light station is staffed. The island is about 12 km (7 mi) offshore in the Río de la Plata and about 32 km (20 mi) east of Montevideo. It is a historic site, having been used formerly as a slave reception station and as a sanitorium; today the light station is the only activity. Located on the highest point of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS URU-001; Admiralty G0690; NGA 19080. * Yacht Club Uruguayo (Puerto del Buceo) 1939. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); white flash every 5 s. Light mounted atop an 8-story Art Deco concrete and steel building. Entire building is white. Manilo Ferrari has a good photo, a view from a different angle is available, and Google has a satellite view. The building was listed as a historic site in 1997. Located at the Puerto del Budeo on the east side of Montevideo. Site open. Site manager: Yacht Club Uruguayo. ARLHS URU-014; Admiralty G0699; NGA 19112. * Punta Brava (Punta Carretas) 1876. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); flash every 5 s, alternating red and white. 19 m (63 ft) round cylindrical brick tower with lantern and gallery, rising from a 2-story keeper's house. Tower unpainted; lantern and watch room painted with red and white vertical stripes; keeper's house painted white. The house is wrapped around the tower in an unusual way. Vince Alongi's photo is at right, Maizels also has photos, Klaus Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. The light station is staffed. Located at the end of a very sharp point on the southeastern side of the city of Montevideo, Uruguay's capital. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS URU-012; Admiralty G0700; NGA 19124. * Montevideo Catedral Metropolitana 1862. Inactive since about 1910. Approx. 23 m (75 ft) square masonry church tower, the south tower of the 1790 Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Montevideo. A good photo is available, also a second photo (the south tower is on the left in both photos). The light was removed after mariners complained it was difficult to distinguish from other lights of the city. Located in the old part of the city, which is on a peninsula jutting into the Río de la Plata; Google has a good satellite view. Site open, tower closed.

Faro de Punta Brava, December 2006 Creative Commons photo by Vince Alongi

** El Cerro de Montevideo

1802. Active; focal plane 148 m (486 ft); three white flashes, separated by 2 s, every 10 s. 8 m (26 ft) round cylindrical brick tower with lantern and gallery rising from a historic fortress. Entire lighthouse painted white. The light station is staffed. Maizels also has a closeup photo, another photo is available, Klaus Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. Uruguay's oldest lighthouse, built by Spain before Uruguay became independent. Restored during the 1930s, the fortress reopened in 1939 as Uruguay's military museum, the Museo Militar Fortaleza General Artigas. Located atop the hill (cerro) for which the city is named, but across the harbor (west) from the main part of the modern city. Site open, museum open daily, tower closed so far as is known. ARLHS URU-009; Admiralty G0702; NGA 19184.

La Penela (2)

Date unknown (station established 1915; lightship station established 1866). Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); four white flashes every 10 s. 14 m (46 ft) round "barbell" fiberglass tower, flared at top and bottom, mounted on the circular caisson of the 1915 lighthouse. Lighthouse painted with red an white horizontal bands. No lantern. Another photo is available (at the bottom of the page), and WorldLights.com has a historic photo of the original lighthouse. Located in the Río de la Plata about 10 km (6 mi) west of Cerro de Montevideo. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS URU-011; Admiralty G0736; NGA 19196.

*** Colonia del Sacramento 1857. Active; focal plane 34 m (112 ft); red flash every 9 s. 27 m (88 ft) cylindrical brick tower with lantern and gallery, lower half square, upper half round. Lighthouse painted white; lantern roof is red. Ignacio Errico's photo is at right, Maizels has two photos, and an excellent closeup is available. Light station is staffed. The lighthouse is built within the ruins of the Convento de San Francisco Javier, built by the Portuguese in 1682. Also adjacent to the light station is the municipal museum of this historic city, which faces Buenos Aires across the broad Río de la Plata estuary. Located in the historic district of the city, on a peninsula extending into the Río de la Plata. Google has a satellite view. Site open, tower is obviously open but no information on the schedule is available. ARLHS URU-007; Admiralty G0756; NGA 19260. Isla de Farallon 1870. Active; focal plane 26 m (86 ft); two white flashes, separated by 2.5 s, every 10 s. 24 m (79 ft) round brick tower with lantern rising from 1-story keeper's house. Tower painted white; lantern and watch room painted with red and white vertical stripes. Robert Pollack has a distant view, Gonzalo Sainz-Trápaga has another distant view that shows the lighthouse in action, the lighthouse also appears on a postage stamp, and Google has a satellite view. This is an automated lighthouse; the keeper's house is abandoned and probably endangered. Located on a tiny island in the Río de la Plata about 5 km (3 mi) west southwest of Colonia del Sacramento. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS URU-003; Admiralty G0762; NGA 19280.

Faro de la Colonia del Sacramento, October 2006 Creative Commons photo by Ignacio Errico

Notable faux lighthouses:

• La Torre Anchorena, at the confluence of the Río San Juan and the Río de la Plata, is about 69 m (225 ft) tall. It was privately built and intended to serve as a lighthouse, but it has never been an official aid to navigation. Google has a satellite view of the tower.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

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Checked and revised March 3, 2008. Lighthouses: 14. Site copyright 2008 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.