Lighthouses of Puntland, Somalia

Shaped something like a fish hook, Somalia is located on the Horn of Africa, the northeastern corner of the continent. The country was formed in 1960 by uniting the former British Somaililand, which faces north on the Gulf of Aden, with the former Italian Somaliland, which mostly faces east southeast on the Indian Ocean. This union has never been complete and since 1991 the country has been splintered by repeated secession and conflict. The Republic of Somaliland, which controls most of the former British Somaliland, declared its independence of Somalia in 1991 and has been seeking international recognition. Lighthouses of Somaliland are described on a separate page. For the rest of the country the Federal Government of Somalia, organized in 2012, is recognized by the United Nations and is attempting to create a federal union of semi-autonomous states..

Puntland is one of the federated states of Somalia. It was founded in 1998 by a convention of local leaders, taking its name from the legendary Land of Punt, a region southeast of ancient Egypt that may or may not have included Somalia. It is located on the point of the Horn of Africa, the northeastern corner of the continent, with Somaliland to its west. With an organized and functioning government it is by far the most stable of the federal states. In March 2024, following changes to the federal constitution enacted by the federal legislature, the government of Puntland announced it was breaking ties with the federal government and would henceforth operate as if it were independent, although it continues to style itself as a state of Somalia.

Puntland has a population of about 4.3 million. It has a major port, Bosaso, facing north on the Gulf of Aden.

Somali and Arabic are official languages in Somalia. Unlike Arabic, Somali is written in the Latin alphabet. The Somali word for a lighthouse is laydh; jasiirad is an island and dekedda is a harbor.

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 112.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Somalia - North Coast and East Coast
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
Lighthouses in Somalia
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
World of Lighthouses - Somalia
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Afrikanischen Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
Lighthouses of Africa
Historic postcard images posted by Michel Forand.
Google Maps
Satellite view of Puntland.


Ra's Asir (Cape Guardafui) Light, June 2017
Google Maps photo by Abdul Warfa

North Coast (Gulf of Aden) Lighthouses
Bosaso, a city of more than 600,000 residents, is a major port and the commercial centrr of Puntland. It is an ancient city known to Greek and Roman merchants as Kasim. In 2017 DP World, the Dubai-based port operating compnay, signed an agreement to expand, modernize and manage the Port of Bosaso.

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Bosaso (Bossaso, Boosaaso, Bandar Cassim, Bandar Qasim) Range Rear (1)
Date unknown. Apparently inactive since 2004. 13 m (43 ft) black and white banded tower. No lantern. Dr. Abdulkadir Omar has the 2024 drone view at right, Lightphotos.net has Hans de Graaf's 2013 view of the light, and Google has a satellite view. An Admiralty Notice to Mariners (2004#22) reported that the Bosaso range lights had been replaced by new lights on a slightly different heading, but that the old structures were left in place. Located in Bosaso. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SOM-001.
[Bosaso (Bossaso, Boosaaso, Bandar Cassim, Bandar Qasim) Range Rear (2)}
2004. Active; focal plane about 20 m (66 ft); red light, 2 s on, 2 s off. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) mast, whie with two narrow red or blck horizontal bands. Dr. Abdulkadir Omar has a 2024 drone view and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on he waterfront of the harbor. The front light, also seen to the left in the drone view, is on a similar post about 8 m (26 ft) tall. Admiralty D7260.1; NGA 31060.
Qandala (Candala) (?)
Date unknown. Inactive but listed with focal plane unknown; three long white flashes every 30 s. Described by the light lists as "residency." Omar Gadood has a 2019 view from the sea and a closeup of what is probably the "residency" building, but there's no evidence of a light. Google has a satellite view. Located on the waterfront at Qandala, a village about 75 km (47 mi) east of Bosaso. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D7258; NGA 31064.

Bodaso Range Rear Light, Bosaso, August 2024
Google Maps drone view by Dr. Abdulkadir Omar
Alula (Caluula)
Date unknown. Inactive but listed with focal plane 16 m (52 ft); two white flashes every 16 s. 13 m (43 ft) square cylindrical white concrete tower, unpainted. A 2025 photo is at right, Dr Abdulkadir Omar has a 2019 photo, a photo was posted to Twitter in 2017, and Google has a satellite view. There's no evidence of an active port here. Alula is a short distance southwest of Cape Alula, the northernmost point of Somalia. Located on the waterfront at Alula, a village about 50 km (30 mi) west of Cape Guardafui. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D7256; NGA 31068.
Ra's Caseyr (Ra's Asir, Cape Guardafui, Faro Francesco Crispi) (2)
1930 (station established 1924). Inactive and abandoned. 19 m (63 ft) round cylindrical masonry tower, originally with lantern and gallery, mounted on a square stone base. Abdul Warfa has the 2017 photo at the top of this page, Alberto Alpozzi has a photo, Oscar de Vogel contributed a 2013 photo, and the shadow of the tower and remains of several buildings can be seen in Google's satellite view of the station. Wikimedia has a historic photo of the intact lighthouse; the lantern is now gone and the abandoned buildings are in ruins. Forand has a historic postcard view of the original lighthouse, a skeletal tower. Cape Guardafui, also called Ra's Caseyr or Ra's Asir, is the point of the Horn of Africa, the northeastern tip of the continent. This historic lighthouse is described by the international light lists as "unreliable"; in fact it has been abandoned and the surrounding area is quite desolate. It had a focal plane of 263 m (863 ft) making it one of Africa's highest lighthouses. It was designed to resemble a fasces, the symbol of the fascist Italian government; it even has the axe blade on its side. The lighthouse was originally named for Francesco Crespi, who served two terms as Prime Minister of Italy between 1887 and 1896. Site status unknown. ARLHS SOM-003; Admiralty D7246; NGA 31072.

Caluula (Alula) Light, Alula, October 2025
Google Maps photo by marcinat

East Coast (Indian Ocean) Lighthouses
Ra's Hafun (Xaafuun)
Date unknown. Inactive; listed with focal plane 107 m (351 ft), two white flashes every 35 s. 13 m (42 ft) concrete post centered on a square concrete building. Lightphotos.net has a photo, a 2010 photo is available, and the abandoned station is seen in a Google satellite view. Ra's Hafun, the easternmost point of the African continent, is a sharp promontory sheltering the fishing port of Hafun. Puntland plans some economic development of Hafun, so the light might be reactivated. Site status unknown. ARLHS SOM-011; Admiralty D7242; NGA 31076.
Bayla (Bandarbeyla)
Date unknown. Inactive; listed with focal plane unknown and a continuous white light. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) square cylindrical masonry tower. The tower is seen clearly in Axmed Diini's 2019 drone view of the town and Google has a satellite view. Located at the north end of Bayla, a district capital sheltered by the cape of Ra's Ma'bar about 120 km (75 mi) south of Ra's Hafun. Site status unknown. Admiralty D7239; NGA 31080.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: South: Southern Somalia | West: Somaliland

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Posted July 1, 2005. Checked and revised February 15, 2026. Lighthouses: 6. Site copyright 2026 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.