Lighthouses of Ecuador: Galápagos

The Galápagos Islands are a group of volcanic islands stretched along the Equator in the easternmost Pacific Ocean, about 750 km (475 mi) due west of the mainland of Ecuador. The archipelago was annexed by Ecuador in 1832 and the first settlements were made in that year. In 1959 the islands were made a national park. Famous for exotic scenery and equally exotic wildlife, the islands quickly became a popular tourist destination. In order to support this tourism the permanent population has increased to about 35,000.

The islands have been officially renamed the Archipiélago de Colón (Columbus Islands), although this name is rarely used outside the country. Politically, however, the islands are organized as Galápagos Province.

In Spanish the 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, galápago is a word for a web-footed turtle that lives in water.

Aids to navigation in Ecuador are owned by the Navy (Armada del Ecuador) and maintained by the Departamento de Ayudas a Navegación of the Navy's Instituto Oceanográfico.

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 111.

General sources
Online List of Lights - Archipiélago de Colón
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Most of the Galápagos photos are by Arno Siering or Eckhard Meyer.
Phares d'Amérique
From their Phares du Monde web site, Alain Guyomard and Robert Carceller have photos of four lights in the Galápagos.
World of Lighthouses - Ecuador
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Lighthouses in Galapagos
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
Navionics Charts
Navigational chart for the Galápagos.

Playaman Light
Playaman Light, Isla San Cristóbal, August 2007
Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Iris Diensthuber

Isla San Cristóbal Lighthouses
San Cristóbal is the easternmost of the islands and geologically the oldest. Cerro San Joaquin, the extinct volcano that formed the island, rises to a height of 730 m (2395 ft). Puerto Barquerizo Moreno, on the southwestern coast of the island, is the provincial capital; it has a population of about 7000. The airport on the island receives flights daily from the mainland.

Cerro Colorado (Colorado Mountain, Cerro San Joaquin)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 199 m (653 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) round concrete tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Jonathan Moyón has a 2023 street view and Google has a distant satellite view. This is the landfall light for the islands, guiding vessels arriving from Ecuador. Located on the eastern slope of Cerro San Joaquin. Site status unknown, but there's a view from the nearby tortoise nature reserve visitor center, the Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado. Site manager: Parque Nacional de Galápagos. ARLHS GAL-001; Admiralty G3104; NGA 0333.
* Punta Malamoco
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); two flashes every 10 s, white, red or green depending on direction. 7 m (23 ft) square pyramidal metal tower painted in a red and white checkered pattern and mounted atop a 2-story building. Diego Nuñez has a good street view and Bing has a satellite view. This directional light guides vessels into the harbor. Guyomard and Carceller have older photos misidentified as the Patricia Hill Light (Admiralty G3102). Located across from a quay on the waterfront of Puerto Barquerizo Moreno. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAL-012; Admiralty G3103; NGA 0334.
* Playa Man (Playaman, San Cristóbal) (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 8 m (26 ft); white flash every 6 s. Approx. 6 m (20 ft) round cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, painted yellow with red trim and a red band around the gallery. Iris Diensthuber's photo is at the top of this page, Pat Young has a photo, Nabila Gilces has a 2023 photo, panoramic view of the lighthouse and harbor is also available, and Google has a sea view and a satellite view. NGA formerly listed a very small light at this location. Located on a rocky point north of Puerto Barquerizo Moreno near the southwestern tip of the island. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAL-013; Admiralty G3101.5; NGA 0329.
* Punta Lido (Playa Carola)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); one long (1.5 s) white flash every 10 s. 7 m (23 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery, painted red with one white horizontal band. Santiago Hidalgo has a closeup photo, a 2023 photo is available, Trabas has Meyer's distant view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view and a street view from the nearby beach. Located on a promontory at the northern entrance to the bay of Puerto Barquerizo Moreno, the principal settlement on the island. Accessible by a short hike from the town. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAL-011; Admiralty G3101; NGA 0328.

Isla Española Lighthouse
Española is a small, uninhabited island about 55 km (35 mi) south of San Cristóbal.

Punta Suarez (Española) (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 11 m (36 ft); two white flashes every 12 s. Approx. 8 m (26 ft) round hourglass-shaped metal tower, formerly painted with black and yellow horizontal bands but now listed as black with a red horizontal band. Brian Chow's photo is at right, Trabas has Meyer's photo, Richard Gleick has a photo, Fritz Stugren has another photo, a sunset view taken from the sea is also available, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. NGA lists a 2 m (7 ft) fiberglass light at this location. Located at the western tip of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty G3105; NGA 0370.2.
Punta Suarez Light
Punta Suarez Light, Isla Española, November 2010
Flickr photo copyright Brian Chow; used by permission

Isla Baltra and Isla Santa Cruz Lighthouses
Santa Cruz is an elliptical island at the center of the archipelago. Cerro Crocker, the dormant volcano that formed the island, rises to a height of 864 m (2835 ft). Puerto Ayora, on the southern coast of the island, is the largest settlement of the archipelago; it has a population of about 12,000. Baltra is a smaller, relatively flat island just off the north coast of Santa Cruz. The U.S. established an airbase on Baltra during World War II and this airport remains one of the two airports of the islands.

Aeolian (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 30 m (98 ft); two long (1.5 s) white flashes every 15 s. Approx. 27 m (89 ft) triangular steel skeletal tower, painted red. The top of the tower carries a daymark in the form of five red horizontal bars. Trabas has Siering's photo (also seen at right) and Google has a satellite view. NGA lists a 7 m (23 ft) fiberglass tower at this location. Located on a cape on the northwestern coast of Baltra. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty G3108; NGA 0356.
Isla Baltra
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 9 m (30 ft) square concrete tower painted in a black and white checkered pattern. Trabas has Siering's distant photo, and Google has a distant satellite view. Located in heavy brush on the northwest coast of Isla Baltra. Site status unknown. ARLHS GAL-002; Admiralty G3109; NGA 0344.
* Puerto Ayora (Bahía Academy, Isla Santa Cruz) (3)
2010. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); two yellow flashes every 10 s. 20 m (66 ft) triangular steel skeletal tower, painted red. The top of the tower carries a daymark in the form of four red horizontal bars. Trabas has Siering's photo, Marcos Quinga has a 2021 drone view, the light is near the right edge of Rafael Rocha's photo, and Bing has an indistinct satellite view. NGA formerly listed a 12 m (39 ft) concrete tower here, and before that it listed a "metal structure." Puerto Ayora, on the southern side of the Isla de Santa Cruz, is the largest settlement in the Galápagos. Bahía Academy (Academy Bay) is the name of its harbor. Located on Punta Estrada, a rocky point on the west side of the harbor. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAL-005; Admiralty G3107; NGA 0360.
* Puerto Ayora Water Tower
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 49 m (161 ft); one long (1.5 s) yellow flash every 10 s. 24 m (79 ft) concrete column supporting a drum-shaped water tank. Tank painted red. José Ricardo Montesinos Guevara has a photo, Trabas has Siering's photo and Google has an indistinct satellite view. This light was dropped from the Admiralty list in November 2018 but the light probably remains active as a warning light. Located at the western edge of Puerto Ayora. Site open, tower closed. ex-Admiralty G3107.1; NGA 0362.
Aeolian Light
Aeolian Light, Isla Baltra
photo copyright Arno Siering; used by permission
Punta Estrada
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 7 m round barbell-shaped fiberglass tower colored with red and yellow horizontal bands. Wikimedia has Diego Delso's photo and a second photo by David Adam Kess, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the tip of a promontory at the southern entrance to Bahía Academy. Site status unknown. Admiralty G3106.5; NGA 0352.

Isla Santiago Lighthouse
Santiago is an uninhabited island northwest of Isla Santa Cruz. Covered by lava flows from two dormant volcanos, it is quite rugged.
Isla Santiago (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); two white flashes every 12 s. 7 m (23 ft) round hourglass-shaped metal tower, painted with black and yellow horizontal bands. Trabas has Siering's closeup photo (also seen at right), a 2007 photo is available, and Bing has a distant satellite view. Both the Admiralty and NGA formerly listed a much smaller light for this location. Located near the western tip of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty G3111.5; NGA 0369.

Isla Floreana Lighthouses
Floreana is a small, relatively flat island located south of Santiago and southeast of Isabela. Its only settlement is the village of Puerto Velasco Ibarra, on the west coast; the population is about 100.

#Puerto Velasco Ibarra (2)
Date unknown. Removed in 2010. This was an approx. 20 m (66 ft) triangular skeletal tower, painted red and carrying a daymark of four horizontal bars. Google's sea view confirms the removal of the light. Formerly located just off the beach in Puerto Velasco Ibarra.
* Puerto Velasco Ibarra (3)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 7 m (23 ft) round concrete tower, painted white with a red horizontal band. Trabas has Meyer's photo, Sarah Schwanbeck has a closeup photo, Marcos Quinga has a drone view, and Google has a sea view and a distant satellite view. Located on the waterfront in Puerto Velasco Ibarra. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAL-014; Admiralty G3114; NGA 0340.

Isla Santiago Light, Isla Santiago
photo copyright Arno Siering; used by permission

Isla Isabela Lighthouse
Isabela is an the largest island of the Galápagos, located near the western end of the group. Sitting over the "hot spot," the island has two active volcanos. Most of the island is rugged and deserted. Puerto Villamil, at the southern end of the island, is the third largest town of the archipelago with a population of about 2000.

*
Puerto General Villamil (2)
2010. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 20 m (66 ft) triangular skeletal tower, painted red and carrying a daymark of four horizontal bars. Trabas has Meyer's photo, Almut Martens has a photo, Jesus Ferrero Soler has a distant street view, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. NGA formerly listed a 9 m (30 ft) tower. Located just off the beach on the west side of Puerto Villamil. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS GAL-008; Admiralty G3113; NGA 0364.

Notable faux lighthouse:

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Posted October 22, 2012. Checked and revised September 17, 2023. Lighthouses: 14. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.