Lighthouses of Honduras

The Republic of Honduras is a nation of Central America located between Guatemala and Nicaragua. The country has a long coast facing north on the Gulf of Honduras, the westernmost embayment of the Caribbean Sea. In the south of Honduras there is also a very short coast on the Gulf of Fonseca, an arm of the Pacific Ocean. Puerto Cortés, in the northwest, is the largest port of Honduras and in fact the largest port of Central America.

For local government Honduras is divided into 18 departments (departamentos).

In Spanish the word for a lighthouse is faro, baliza is a beacon, 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.

Aids to navigation in Honduras are maintained by the Empresa Nacional Portuaria (ENP), the national ports company.

Lighthouses of two remote Caribbean islands, Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo, are often attributed to Honduras. These islands have also been claimed by various other countries including Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the U.S. However, both Serranilla and Bajo Nuevo are administered by Colombia and their lighthouses are listed on the San Andrés and Providencia page. Honduras gave up its claim to these islands in a 1986 agreement in return for Colombia's recognition of Honduran claims to certain islands closer to the mainland.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. Light List numbers are from NGA Publication 110.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Honduras
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. The photos for Honduras are by Capt. Theodore Hinrichs (Capt. Theo) or Capt. Peter Mosselberger (Capt. Peter).
World of Lighthouses - Honduras
Photos available from Lightphotos.net.
Leuchttürme Mittelamerikas auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Honduras.

Faro de Puerto Cortés
Punta Caballos Light, Puerto Cortés
photo copyright Capt. Theo Hinrichs; used by permission

Cortés Department Lighthouse
Puerto Cortés (Punta Caballos) (2)
Date unknown (station established 1898). Active; focal plane 58 m (190 ft); white flash every 5 s. 14 m (46 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Trabas has a photo by Capt. Theo (also seen above) and Google has a satellite view. Lighthouse Digest has Michel Forand's postcard view of the 1898 lighthouse, a spidery skeletal tower; Huelse has the same postcard view. Located at the western end of the peninsula sheltering the harbor of Puerto Cortés, about 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the city. Site status unknown. ARLHS HON-003; Admiralty J5994; NGA 16428.

Atlántida Department Lighthouses
Punta Sal
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 84 m (275 ft); four white flashes every 30 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of a sharp cape about 25 km (15 mi) northwest of Tela. Site status unknown. Admiralty J5997; NGA 16432.
Punta Izopo (Punta Obispo)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); white flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower with gallery, painted white. Tito Gonza's aerial photo is at right and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of sharp cape about 15 km (9 mi) northeast of Tela. Site status unknown. Admiralty J5999; NGA 16440.

Islas de la Bahía Department Lighthouses
The Islas de la Bahía (Bay Islands) are a group of islands off the north coast of Honduras. The major islands, from west to east, are Útila, Roatán, and Guanaja. The Cayos Cochino are a group of smaller islands between the major islands and the coast. The Bay Islands were governed as a British colony from 1852 to 1861. Today the islands are very popular vacation destinations.

*
Cochino Grande
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 157 m (516 ft); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Sibling of Isla de Roatán. Peter Leupold has a closeup photo, a tiny photo is available (bottom row of photos), and Google has a satellite view. The second photographer reported that the lighthouse "doesn't work." The lighthouse is said to have been built in Germany. Located on Cochino Grande in the Cayos Cochinos off La Ceiba on the north central coast of the country. Site and tower open. Site manager: unknown. ARLHS HON-007; Admiralty J6009.6; NGA 16473.

Punta Izopo Light
Punta Izopo Light, Tela
ex-Panoramio photo copyright titogonza; permission requested

Cerro Pumpkin (Pumpkin Hill, Útila) (2?)
2011? (rebuilt in 2022). Active; focal plane unknown; white flash every 9 s. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Joseph Thompson has a 2022 photo, Nahun Castro' also has a 2022 photo, Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo and Google has a satellite view. The hill is tall; Anthony Caballero's distant street view from the beach shows that the focal plane is much more than the listed 17 m (56 ft). Located on Pumpkin Hill, a prominent landmark on the northeast coast of Útila. Site status unknown. Admiralty J6002; NGA 16447.
* Isla de Roatán Punta Oeste
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; white flash every 5 s. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Paul Nicholson's photo is at right, Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo, Karen Morris has a view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the western end of the island, about 150 km (90 mi) north of the mainland. Accessible by road. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J6008.2; NGA 16461.
Isla de Roatán
Date unknown. Active; focal plane unknown; white flash every 9 s. Approx. 14 m (46 ft) square skeletal communications tower, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Trabas has Capt. Peter's photo and Google has a street view and a satellite view. The light was described by NGA as a "red and white metal tower" for many years. The description has been changed to "concrete tower," but it's not clear that a new tower has been built here. The focal plane must be higher than the listed 21 m (69 ft). Located on heights above the harbor of Half Moon Bay, about 5 km (3 mi) north northeast of the Punta Oeste light. Site status unknown. ARLHS HON-008; Admiralty J6007; NGA 16460.
Black Rock Point (Isla Guanaja) (2)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 9 s. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Trabas has Capt. Peter's distant photo and Google has a distant satellite view. NGA formerly listed an older light that had a focal plane of 61 m (200 ft). Located at the northeastern tip of Isla Guanaja. Site status unknown. Site manager: unknown. ARLHS HON-006; Admiralty J6010.5; NGA 16477.
Faro de Roatan
Punta Oeste Light, Isla de Roatán, Honduras, January 2008
ex-Flickr Creative Commons photo by Paul Nicholson

Swan Island Lighthouse

Islas del Cisne (Swan Islands)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); white flash every 5 s. 13 m (46 ft) mast rising from a 2-story building. Trabas has Capt. Theo's view from the sea and Google has a satellite view of the station. The Swan Islands are three small, sandy islands about 150 km (95 mi) north of the Honduran coastline. The U.S. claimed the islands under the Guano Act in 1863 and over the years various U.S. interests and agencies had facilities on Great Swan Island, the largest of the islands. In 1972 the U.S. gave up its claim and recognized Honduran sovereignty over the islands. The Honduran Navy now operates a small base on the island, supported by an airstrip. The islands are attached to the Islas de la Bahía Department. Located at the west end of Great Swan Island. Site and tower closed. ARLHS HON-002; Admiralty J6016; NGA 16480.

Colón Department Lighthouse
Punta Caxinas (Cabo de Honduras)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 7 s. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Josué Noel Rojas Flores has the street view at right, Trabas has Capt. Peter's very distant view and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of a long, west-pointing peninsula sheltering the Bahía de Trujillo near Puerto Castilla. Site and tower closed. Admiralty J6009.7; NGA 16457.

Gracias a Dios Department Lighthouses
#Cabo Camarón (1?)
Date unknown. Collapsed in 2011. This was a 22 m (72 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Eblin Tejeda has a 2009 photo and Google has a satellite view of the location. All photos previously available showed the light almost in the water and clearly endangered, and an April 2010 photo showed the tower in the surf and about to fall. A visitor in February 2012 reported that the lighthouse ya no existe (no longer exists), that it fue derribado por las fuertes oleadas (was destroyed by the heavy waves). These waves probably came from Tropical Storm Harvey, which made a direct hit on this coast in August 2011. There may be a new light (listed with focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 5 s); a possible tower is a little to the east (right) of the listed location in Google's satellite view. The cape is a bulge in the coast about 65 km (40 mi) east of Limón. Site status unknown. ARLHS HON-001; Admiralty J6012; NGA 16478.
Punta Patuca
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 10 s. Approx. 18 m (56 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Bing has a fuzzy satellite view. Located on a cape about 35 km (22 mi) east southeast of Cabo Camaron. Site status unknown. ARLHS HON-009; Admiralty J6013; NGA 110-16479.
Cabo Falso
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) steel post with gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Bing has a satellite view. Cabo Falso is so called because it is easily mistaken for Cabo Gracias a Dios, the prominent cape at the Nicaraguan border. Located on the cape, about 30 km (20 mi) northwest of Cabo Gracias a Dios. Site status unknown. Admiralty J6014; NGA 16483.
 

Punta Caxinas Light, Colón, March 2018
Google Maps street view by Josué Noel Rojas Flores
 

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: San Andres and Providencia | South: Nicaragua Caribbean | West: Guatemala Caribbean

Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key

Posted May 19, 2004. Checked and revised April 8, 2024. Lighthouses: 13. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.