Lighthouses of Seychelles
The Republic of Seychelles (pronounced Say-shells) includes several groups of islands
scattered across the western part of the South Indian Ocean north of Madagascar.
The Mahé group consists of rocky, fairly substantial islands and
forms the core of the country; the other islands are mostly coral reefs.
The first European settlements in the islands were by the French in the
1700s. The islands seesawed back and forth between Britain and France
during the wars between those countries, finally landing in British hands
for good in 1814. They were administered from Mauritius until 1903, when
Seychelles became a separate colony. The country has been independent
There are two historic lighthouses in Seychelles, the Denis Island Light seen at right and the Port Victoria Light shown
below. Aids to navigation
in Seychelles are maintained by the Seychelles Port Authority.
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
- A section of Le phare
à travers le monde, the outstanding web site of Alain Guyomard
and Robert Carceller; it includes links to several pages for Seychelles
lighthouses. These photos were contributed by Jean-Michel Penin.
- Online List of Lights - Seychelles
- Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
- Lighthouses in Seychelles
- Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
- World of Lighthouses - Seychelles
- Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten
- Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
- Huelse's extensive and useful page of
lighthouse postage stamp images.
Denis Island Light, June 2012
photo copyright Dene Bebbington; used by permission
- Denis Island Lighthouse
- ** Denis Island (3)
- 1910 (station established 1883). Apparently inactive; listed with focal plane 37 m (121 ft);
white flash every 5 s. 27 m (89 ft) skeletal tower with lantern and
gallery, topped by a second skeletal tower. Access to the gallery is
by an external stairway that zigzags up the legs of the tower. Lighthouse
painted with red and white horizontal bands. Dene Bebbington contributed the photo at the top of this page,
Linda Enfield has a 2008 photo, a 2004 photo is available, and Google has a satellite
view. The skeletal extension was added in 1973; the two postage stamps at right show views
before and after the extension. Lighthouse Explorer has Michel Forand's postcard
view of the tripod-style lighthouse built in 1892 to replace the original wood tower, which had detriorated quickly in the tropical climate. Huelse has the same postcard view. Denis
Island is a small, privately owned coral island about 85 km (53
mi) north of Mahé. The island has been developed as a resort.
Daniel Luconi has forwarded a message from the resort's sales manager, who says that the lighthouse "is no longer used for this purpose [navigation] and only serves as a remembrance of the Denis Island history." Located at the northern point of the island. Site open, tower reported open
for climbing to the gallery. ARLHS SEY-002; Admiralty D6860; NGA 32844.
Denis Island Light on 1962 (left) and 1983 postage stamps
images courtesy of Klaus Huelse
Praslin and La Digue Lighthouses
- Note: Praslin is the second largest island of the Seychelles. Located 44 km (27 mi) northeast of Mahé, Praslin has a population of about 6,500. La Digue is a smaller island east of Praslin, separated from Praslin by a channel 4 km (2.5 mi) wide.
- Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); quick-flashing
white light. Approx. 6 m (20 ft) conical white concrete tower. Trabas has Klaus Potschien's photo, Lightphotos.net has a view from the sea, and Google has a satellite
view. Located on a rocky promontory on the north coast of Praslin
Island, about 50 km (30 mi) northeast of Victoria. Accessible only
by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SEY-009; Admiralty D6862.4;
- Pointe Cabris (Praslin Island)
- Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); white flash every
10 s. Approx. 7 m (23 ft) white masonry tower. Trabas has Douglas Cameron's photo, and Google has a satellite
view. Located at the southeastern tip of Praslin Island, about
50 km (30 mi) northeast of Victoria. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS
SEY-006; Admiralty D6862; NGA 32824.
- [La Digue]
- Date unknown. Active; focal plane 6 m (20 ft); white flash every 4 s. 3 m (10 ft) square cabinet with a short mast on top. Cabinet painted white. Trabas has Douglas Cameron's photo, Lightphotos.net has a good photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a reef just off the western tip of La Digue. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS
SEY-006; Admiralty D6863; NGA 32840.
Mahé Island Area Lighthouses
- Note: The largest island of the Seychelles, Mahé includes the capital, Victoria, and has a population of nearly 80,000 (86% of the population of the country).
- Mamelle Island (2?)
- Date unknown (station established 1912). Active; focal plane 49
m (161 ft); white flash every 2.5 s. 6 m (20 ft) "white square
with a red roof, according to the NGA description. No photo available, although Trabas has Rainer Arndt's distant view of the island;
in Google's satellite
view there appears to be a ruined keeper's
cottage northeast of the lighthouse. The original light here was the 1892 tripod tower (seen in Michel Forand's postcard
view), which was relocated from Denis Island. Located on a small rocky island
about 16 km (10 mi) northeast of the northern tip of Mahé.
Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SEY-005;
Admiralty D6864; NGA 32820.
Ternay (Pointe Matoopa)]
- Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); two quick white
flashes every 10 s. Approx. 5 m (16 ft) conical white concrete tower.
Google has an indistinct satellite
view. Located at the western tip of Mahé. Probably accessible
only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS SEY-001; Admiralty D6871;
- 1877. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); white flash every 6.7 s.
11 m (36 ft) masonry tower extended by a square skeletal tower. Masonry
tower painted white, skeletal tower painted with red and white horizontal
bands. Douglas Cameron's photo is at right, Trabas has Rainer Arndt's photo, Lightphotos.net has a good photo, Robert Wright has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse marks the entrance to the harbor of Victoria,
the national capital, on the island of Mahé. In early 2007,
the Ports Authority made repairs to the masonry structure. Located
about 3 km (2 mi) northeast of the Victoria waterfront. Accessible
only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS SEY-004; Admiralty D6868;
Port Victoria Entrance Light
photo copyright Douglas Cameron; used by permission
- Aldabra West Island (1 and 2)
- 2013. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white flash every 2 s. 16 m (52 ft) round barbell-shaped fiberglass tower colored with red and white horizontal bands. David Stanley's photo is at right, and Bing has a satellite view of the station. A light was formerly mounted on the circular water tank seen at the left in Stanley's photo. Aldabra is an atoll located 425 km (265 mi) northwest of Madagascar and more than 1100 km (700 mi) southwest of Mahé. The atoll is famous for its wildlife, especially the Aldabra giant tortoise. There is no permanent population, but a scientific station managed by the Seychelles Islands Foundation is often occupied. Located at the scientific station near the northwestern corner of the atoll. Site and tower closed. Admiralty D6879;
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Aldabra West Island Light, December 2016
Flickr photo copyright David Stanley; used by permission
Adjoining pages: East: British Indian Ocean Territory | South: Madagascar
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Posted November 15, 2005. Checked and revised August 2, 2016.
Lighthouses: 6. Site copyright 2016 Russ Rowlett and the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.