Lighthouses of Costa Rica: Pacific Coast

The Republic of Costa Rica is a nation in Central America located between Nicaragua and Panama. The country has a lengthy coastline on the Pacific Ocean and a much shorter one on the Caribbean Sea. Costa Rica is the most stable of the Central American nations and has become a popular destination for tourism, especially ecotourism. The principal ports of the country are Puntarenas and Caldera on the Pacific and Limón on the Caribbean. This page is for the lights of the Pacific coast; there is a second page for lights of the Caribbean Coast.

Costa Rica is divided into seven provinces and the provinces are divided into cantons. The majority of the Pacific coast is included in Puntarenas Province; Guanacaste Province includes the northwestern coast.

The Spanish word for a lighthouse is faro; 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 on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica are operated by INCOP (Instituto Costarricense de Puertos del Pacífico), the agency managing all the Pacific ports.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume G of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. Light List numbers are from NGA Publication 111.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Costa Rica Pacific
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
World of Lighthouses - Costa Rica
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Leuchttürme Mittelamerikas auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Costa Rica.


Punta de Puntarenas Light, Puntarenas, 2014
División Marítimo Portuaria photo

Puntarenas Province Lighthouses

Golfo Dulce Area Lighthouses
The Golfo Dulce is a long bay separating the Osa Peninsula from the mainland of southern Costa Rica. Golfito, a port town of about 12,000 residents, is on the east side of the bay.

Punta Banco
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; two white flashes every 15 s. No information is available on this station and the light has not been found in Google's satellite view of the area. Located on the cape at the eastern entrance to the Golfo Dulce. Site status unknown. Admiralty G3282.5; NGA 15470.
Puerto Golfito Inner Range Front
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 18 m (59 ft); continuous green light. Approx. 6 m (20 ft) tapered green tower mounted atop a long roof the covers most of the pier. Sherman Rivera has an aerial view and Google has a satellite view. The rear light is in dense forest high on the slope above the port. Located on the pier at Golfito. Site status unknown but the light can be seen easily from shore. Admiralty G3285; NGA 15490.
Punta Curupacha (Golfito)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 91 m (299 ft); white flash every 4 s. Steel skeletal tower, painted yellow. No photo available and the area is cloaked with dense forest; it's possible the top of the tower can be glimpsed in the center of Google's satellite view. This light shines southward over the length of the Golfo Dulce. Located on a remote headland about 15 km (9 mi) west of Golfito. Site status unknown. Admiralty G3284; NGA 15472.
Cabo Matapalo
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; white flash every 10 s. No photo available but Google's satellite view of the station shows a white skeletal tower beside a keeper's house. The tower is seen more clearly in BIng's satellite view. Located high on the cape at the southeastern tip of the Osa Peninsula and the west side of the the entrance to the Golfo Dulce. Site status unknown. Admiralty G3282; NGA 15469.

Isla del Caño Lighthouse
* Isla del Caño (2?)
Date unknown (station established 1940). Active (?); focal plane 63 m (207 ft); white flash every 4 s. 22 m (72 ft) steel skeletal tower with a red lantern. Google has a distant sea view but Google's satellite view shows only dense forest with no sign of the tower. The lighthouse was built and originally operated by the United Fruit Company. It was deactivated in 1961, and we don't know if the present light is on the original tower or a new one. The Isla del Caño is a 300 ha (740 acre) island located about 20 km (13 mi) west of the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica. It is now a national park and is a popular destination for day trips. The lighthouse is located at the western end of the island and is accessible by a hiking trail. Site open, and visitors can climb to the gallery. Site manager: Reserva Biológica Isla del Caño. ARLHS COS-003; Admiralty G3306; NGA 15468.

Central West Coast Lighthouse
Punta Quepos (2)
2010 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 156 m (512 ft); white flash every 3 s. 12 m (39 ft) skeletal tower with gallery. Lighthouse painted with horizontal bands, white, red, white and gray. An INCOP photo is at right, Susan Forshner has a distant view, John Turner has a street view made at the base of the tower, and the tower barely pokes above dense forest in Google's satellite view. The new tower replaced an older skeletal tower of the same height. This location is in the Manuel Antonio National Park; there is a large resort, the Hotel Parador, nearby. Located on a very prominent cape about 8 km (5 mi) south of Puerto Quepos on the central west coast of Costa Rica. Site status unknown, very possibly open. Admiralty G3310; NGA 15464.
Faro Punta Quepos
Punta Quepos Light, Puerto Quepos, 2010
División Marítimo Portuaria photo

Gulf of Nicoya Area Lighthouses
The Gulf of Nicoya is a large, hook-shaped bay separating the Nicoya Peninsula from the mainland of Costa Rica. Puntarenas, a city of about 45,000 residents, is on the east side of the bay and is Costa Rica's most important Pacific port. Modern port facilities are located at Caldera on the south side of the city.
Isla Herradura (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 99 m (325 ft); white flash every 10 s. 18 m (59 ft) skeletal tower adjacent to a 1-story equipment building. Lighthouse painted with red and white horizontal bands. A photo is at right, a 2023 drone view is available, Trabas has a very distant view by Capt. Theo Hinrichs, and Google has a distant satellite view. There was a reference (no longer online) to an "old lighthouse" on the crest of Isla Herradura; this may refer to an older lighthouse. The island, a popular site for surfing, is just off the coast at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Nicoya. Located on the crest of the island, near the west end, about 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Los Sueños. Site status unknown. ARLHS COS-004; Admiralty G3316; NGA 15460.
* Los Sueños
Date unknown (recent). Active (privately maintained and unofficial); continuous white light. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) conical concrete (?) tower with gallery and a small lantern. Access to the gallery is by an external stairway that winds around the tower. The lighthouse is painted a light brick red color. Jennifer Hensley has a closeup photo, Sergio Quesada has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. According to visitors the light operates during the evening hours only and is extinguished after midnight. Located at a modern resort on the east side of the entrance to the Golfo de Nicoya, about 65 km (40 mi) south of Puntarenas. Site open, tower closed (the stairway is not accessible to visitors). Site manager: Los Sueños Marriott Ocean and Golf Resort. ARLHS COS-008.
Puerto Caldera
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; flashing red light. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) square skeletal communications tower with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Caldera is on the east side of the Gulf of Nicoya in northwestern Costa Rica, about 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Puntarenas. Located on a steep slope behind the harbor. Site and tower closed, but the tower can be seen from anywhere in the area. Admiralty G3321.

Isla Herradura Light
Isla Herradura Light, Los Sueños, 2010
División Marítimo Portuaria photo

* [Puntarenas Pier (2?)]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft) (?); red light, 1 s on, 1 s off. 5 m (17 ft) post, painted white with a red upper portion. NGA formerly listed a 14 m (46 ft) "silver iron tower, north of a small customs office." Trabas also has Capt. Peter Mosselberger's photo showing the simple post light at the end of the pier. Google has an indistinct satellite view. Puntarenas is located on a long spit pointing westward into the Gulf of Nicoya. Located on the long cruise ship pier on the south side of the spit. Accessible by walking the pier. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS COS-009; Admiralty G3320; NGA 15456.
* Punta de Puntarenas (Barrio el Carmen) (4?)
2014 (station established 1856). Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); two quick white flashes every 5 s. 13 m (43 ft) round tower with lantern and gallery. Tower colored with red and white horizontal bands; lantern painted black. A photo is at the top of this page, Karla Villalobos has a photo, a fine 2017 photo is available, Carlos Eduardo Velásquez Chaves has a street view, and Google has a satellite view. This is Costa Rica's oldest light station, although it was inactive for many years before 2014. Michel Forand has a postcard view of the 1914 light station and Huelse has a larger image of the same postcard. Located on the tip of the long spit of Puntarenas. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty. ARLHS COS-007.
Isla Negritos (2)
2011 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane 48 m (157 ft); four white flashes every 20 s. 12 m (39 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. A photo is at right and Google has an indistinct satellite view. This light was dropped from the Admiralty and NGA lists in 2011 and for some reason the new light was never added. The two Islas Negritos are part of a dangerous reef system extending from the west side of the Gulf of Nicoya east of Paquera. Located at the eastern end of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS COS-005; ex-Admiralty G3344; ex-NGA 111-15452.
Isla Cabo Blanco (2)
2016 (station establishment date unknown). Active; focal plane unknown; two white flashes every 18 s. 12 m (39 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower with double gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Ronald Sanchez has a distant view from the sea, Erick Sanabria has a very distant 2019 view, and Google has a fuzzy satellite view. Nick Malesko has a view of the island from the sea that shows a former keeper's cottage on the summit. This lighthouse is a twin of the Isla Negritos lighthouse shown at right. Located on an island about 1.6 km (1 mi) south of a very prominent cape at the end of the Nicoya Peninsula and the western entrance to the Gulf of Nicoya. Site and tower closed (bird sanctuary). ARLHS COS-001; Admiralty G3346; NGA 15462.
Isla Negritos Light
Isla Negritos Light, Gulf of Nicoya, 2012
División Marítimo Portuaria photo

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Nicaragua Pacific Coast | South: Southern Panama

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Posted (Central America page) January 24, 2005. Checked and revised October 16, 2023. Lighthouses: 12. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.