Lighthouses of Bolivia

The Plurinational State of Bolivia is a landlocked and mostly mountainous South American country, so at first glance one might assume it has no use for lighthouses. However there is navigation on both sides of the country. On the west side Bolivia and Perú share the waters of Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America and the highest navigable lake in the world. Ferries and tour boats are busy on the lake despite its altitude of 3812 m (12,507 ft). On the east side the 11 km (7 mi) long Canal Tamengo links the town of Puerto Suárez on Lago Cáceres in Bolivia to the Rio Paraguai at Corumbá, Brazil, giving Bolivia a lengthy connection with the Río de la Plata and Atlantic Ocean some 1300 km (810 mi) downstream.

Spanish is the official language of Bolivia along with several dozen indigenous languages. The Spanish word for a lighthouse is faro. In Spanish isla is an island, cabo is a cape, punta is a promontory or point of land, péñon is a rock, arrecife is a reef, bahía is a bay, ría is an estuary or inlet, estrecho is a strait, río is a river, and puerto is a port or harbor. Also, the Spanish word canal means a natural channel, not an artificial canal.

Aids to navigation in Bolivia are maintained by the Servicio Nacional de Hidrografía Naval (SNHN) , an agency of the Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana). The August 2010 Notice to Mariners listed most of the lights as "inoperable" but it appears that efforts were underway to get them all back into service.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. SNHN numbers are those appearing on the Bolivian light list; for Lake Titicaca these numbers are chosen to extend the numbering on the Peruvian list. Bolivian lighthouses are not listed by the international light lists.

General Sources
Aviso a los Navegantes - Agusto 2010
Published by SNHN, this notice to mariners (a pdf document) includes a description of navigable waterways in Bolivia and light lists for Lake Titicaca and the Canal Tamengo. The light list for the lake includes lights in the Peruvian section of the lake.
Lighthouses in Bolivia
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Lake Titicaca.

Faro Tamengo
Faro Tamengo, Tamarinero, January 2009
ex-Panoramio Creative Commons photo by Eric Armijo

Santa Cruz Department (Canal Tamengo) Lighthouse
* Faro Tamengo (Torre Faro)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 15 m (49 ft); white light, 4 s on, 8 s off. 12 m (39 ft) round strongly conical concrete tower incorporating a 3-story border guard station. Lighthouse painted white. Eric Armijo's photo above shows the tower flying the Bolivian flag, Pedro Rafael Medrano Pardo has a 2010 view from Brazil across the channel, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse is just barely inside Bolivian territory. Located at about the midpoint of the canal on the east side of Puerto Quijarro, Bolivia, and the west side of Corumbá, Brazil. Site status unknown but the tower can be seen from nearby. ARLHS BOL-001; SNHN-0003.

La Paz Department (Lake Titicaca) Lighthouses
Bolivia has 11 lights on Lake Titicaca including the Faro Chúa seen below right. Most of the other lights are supported by concrete pillars or rectangular concrete beams. Most of these lights are probably too small to be considered lighthouses but the Directory lists several for which photos are or have recently been available.

Copacabana
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 20 m (66 ft); red light, 2.5 s on, 6 s off. Approx. 7 m (23 ft) square (?) concrete tower, painted in a red and white checkerboard pattern. Peter and Jackie Main have a photo but the small tower does not appear in Google's satellite view of the area. Located on a promontory at the entrance to Copacabana, a settlement on the west side of the Yampupata Peninsula, which projects across the international border on the lake's south central coast. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS BOL-002; SNHN-3505.
[Kakayoqueña]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; green light, 1.5 s on, 5 s off. Approx. 7 m (23 ft) rectangular concrete slab painted in a red and white checkerboard pattern. No closeup photo currently available but Google has a satellite view. The light is just barely visible in a very distant view. Located near the southern end of the Isla de Sol, off the northwest end of the Yampupata Peninsula. Probably accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. SNHN-3503.
[Pallakhasa (Palla Khasa]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; white light, 1.5 s on, 5 s off. Approx. 5 m (17 ft) square concrete tower painted in a green and white checkerboard pattern. A photo is at right, Luis Josue Cruz González has a 2020 street view, a 2021 photo is available, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on the heights of Isla del Sol. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS BOL-004; SNHN-3502.

Pallakhasa Light, Isla del Sol
unattributed photo posted by america-ecotours.com
Tiquina
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; white light, 2 s on, 5.5 s off. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round concrete tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. The light is just barely visible in a view from the Tiquina ferry and Google has a very distant satellite view. San Pedro de Tiquina is a village split in half by the Tiquina Strait, which connects the main portion of the lake to its easternmost basin. A ferry on National Route 2 crosses the strait. Located on the south side of the western entrance to the strait. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS BOL-005; SNHN-3508.
[Khella (Isla Khella)]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 60 m (197 ft); green light, 1.5 s on, 5 s off. Approx. 7 m (23 ft) rectangular concrete tower painted in a black and white checkerboard pattern. Freddy Gomez has a 2020 distant view and Google has a distant street view and a distant satellite view. Located on a small island on the north side of the eastern entrance to the Tiquina Strait, which connects the main portion of the lake to its easternmost basin. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS BOL-006; SNHN-3509.
Taquiri
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 15 m (49 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower painted in a black and white checkered pattern. No photo currently available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located near the northwestern tip of the Isla de Taquiri, about 8 km (5 mi) southeast of Tiquina. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS BOL-007; SNHN-3510.
Guaqui (Puerto Guaqui)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 15 m (49 ft); white or red light depending on direction, 2 s on, 10 s off. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower on a round pier or caisson. The tower is listed as painted with red and white vertical stripes. Jimena Baltazar has a 2021 photo and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Puerto Guaqui, in the southeastern corner of Lake Titicaca, is the Bolivian terminal for a rail ferry bringing freight cars from Puno, Peru, at the other end of the lake. The ferries are operated by PeruRail and provide Bolivia with a connection to Peru's seaport at Matarani. Located at the start of the dredged channel to the port, about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) northwest of the dock. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. SNHN-3512.
Faro Chúa
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; white light, 2 s on, 8 s off. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) round concrete tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. SNHN's photo is at right, Wikimedia has a photo, Google has a distant street view from the RN-2 highway, and a Google satellite view shows the tower. Almost certainly this is the world's highest lighthouse; the altitude is at least 3870 m (12,700 ft). Located on a mountain slope east of Chúa. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS BOL-003; SNHN-3513.

Faro Chúa
Faro Chúa
Servicio Nacional de Hidrografía Naval photo

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining page: Southeast: Paraguay | West: Peru Lake Titicaca

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Created September 21, 2010. Checked and revised August 28, 2022. Lighthouses: 6. Site copyright 2022 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.