Lighthouses of Spain: Cantabria

The Kingdom of Spain occupies nearly 85% of the Iberian Peninsula in southeastern Europe with coastlines facing south and southeast on the Mediterranean Sea and southwest and northwest on the Atlantic Ocean. Spain also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the north coast of Morocco.

Spain is divided into 17 regions called autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas). This page describes lighthouses of the autonomous community of Cantabria on Spain's northern coast. This is a beautiful coastline where mountains drop steeply into the sea and occasional water gaps create small sheltered harbors.

In general autonomous communities are divided into provinces, but Cantabria is itself a province. It is subdivided into districts called comarcas.

The word for a lighthouse is faro in Spanish and faru in Asturian, but its use is generally restricted to the larger coastal light stations. In Spanish, smaller lighthouses are called balizas (beacons) or farolas. In Spanish 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.

The navigational lights in Spain are the responsibility of the national port authority, Puertos del Estado, but many of them are operated and maintained by regional port authorities. The Comisión de Faros, founded in 1842 to build and maintain Spanish lighthouses, is now an advisory panel. Lighthouses in Cantabria are operated by the Autoridad Portuaria de Santander.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. ES numbers are from the Spanish national list of lights, Libro de Faros. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.

General Sources
Libro de Faros y Señales de Niebla
Online edition of the official Spanish light list.
Online List of Lights - Spain - Bay of Biscay
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Many photos from this area are by Eckhard Meyer, José da Palma, or Arno Siering.
Lighthouses in Spain
Excellent aerial photos posted by Marinas.com.
Faros del Mundo
Photos and accounts by Carlos Olmo Bosco.
Lighthouses in Spain
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
World of Lighthouses - Spain
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Puerto de Santander - Ayudas a la Navigacíon
Posted by the Autoridad Portuaria de Santander, this page links to data pages with small aerial photos for all the aids to navigation maintained by the authority.
Phares d'Europe
This French-language site by Alain Guyomard and Robert Carceller has pages for many of the lighthouses of northern Spain.
Leuchttürme Spaniens auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
GPSNauticalCharts
Navigational chart information for northern Spain.


Cabo Mayor Light, Santander, April 2024
Instagram photo by bcantero_angie

Costa Occidental (West Coast) District Lighthouses
*** La Silla (San Vicente de la Barquera)
1871. Active; focal plane 43 m (141 ft); white light, 2.5 s on, 1 s off. 9 m (30 ft) square cylindrical stone tower with lantern and gallery, attached to the front of a 1-story masonry keeper's house. Lighthouse painted white with unpainted stone trim; lantern is gray metallic. Fog horn (Morse code "V", three shorts and one long, every 30 s). Trabas has Siering's photo, Daniel Ramos Moreno has a 2024 photo, Miguel Picazo Lopez has a 2022 photo, Fernando Garcia has a 2023 closeup, Marinas.com has aerial photos, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. In June 2005 the city of San Vicente de la Barquera leased the lighthouse for renovation as a museum. The museum opened in summer 2009 as the visitor center for the Oyambre Natural Park. Located atop a bluff on the west side of the entrance to the harbor of San Vicente de la Barquera. Site open, museum open daily except Mondays July through September and daily except Mondays and Tuesdays the rest of the year, tower status unknown. Site manager: Centro de Interpretación del Parque Natural de Oyambre . ARLHS SPA-266; ES-01570; Admiralty D1574; NGA 2096.
* Comillas Inner Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); red flash every 3 s. 7 m (23 ft) round concrete post mounted on a round solid stone base; a stairway gives access to the light. Light tower painted white with a narrow black vertical stripe; base unpainted. Trabas has Meyer's closeup photo and Google has a street view and a satellite view. This is one of four similar small range lights in Comillas, but the only one with a stone base. Located in a street intersection at the foot of the Calle de Juan Martínez in Comillas. Site open, and visitors can climb the stairs to the base of the light tower. ES-01531; Admiralty D1568.1; NGA 2088.
* Suances (Punta Torco de Afuera)
1863. Active; focal plane 35 m (115 ft); three white flashes, in a 2+1 pattern, every 24 s. 9 m (30 ft) cylindrical masonry tower with lantern and gallery, attached to the front of a 1-story masonry keeper's house. Lighthouse is unpainted stone (formerly painted white); gallery painted white; lantern dome is gray metallic. Ramon Garriga has the 2022 photo at right, Trabas has a good photo by Arno Siering, Javier Morillas has a closeup photo, Wikimedia has a distant view by Alfonso Benayas, Marinas.com has aerial photos, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. This lighthouse is built on the site of the medieval fortress of San Martín de la Arena. The original lantern and Fresnel lens were replaced in the 1980s with a modern lantern and a rotating aerobeacon. More recently the station has been demoted to minor status and the aerobeacon has been removed, leaving an empty lantern; the light is now shown from a small lens mounted on the gallery rail. Located at the tip of a peninsula projecting into the sea about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) north of Suances. Accessible by road, parking provided. Site open, tower closed. . ARLHS SPA-269; ES-01485; Admiralty D1562; NGA 2064.

Suances Light, Suances, September 2022
Google Maps photo by Ramon Garriga

Santander District Lighthouses
*** Cabo Mayor
1839. Active; focal plane 89 m (292 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 30 m (98 ft) stone tower with lantern and gallery rising from the center of a circular 1-story stone keeper's house; an additional 1-story house is attached. Lighthouse is unpainted stone; gallery painted white; lantern dome is gray metallic. Fog horn (two 3.5 s blasts every 40 s). A 2024 photo is at the top of this page, Wikimedia has Tiia Monto's 2016 photo and many additional photos, Lighthouse Digest has a good photo by José Manuel, Trabas has Siering's closeup photo, Z.M. Todorovski has a 2021 closeup, Marinas.com has aerial photos, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a street view and a fine satellite view. This historic lighthouse was built in response to a royal order of 1833; originally it was part of a fortress that supported the defense of the royal naval base in Santander. Well maintained, it is a popular tourist attraction adjacent to the city's Parque Cabo Mayor. The keeper's houses have been renovated as an art museum exhibiting lighthouse-related works, many by the local painter Eduardo Sanz-Villar. Located on a headland projecting into the sea about 5 km (3 mi) northwest of the Faro de la Cerda and the same distance northeast of the Santander waterfront. Site open daily, museum open daily except Mondays, tower closed except by prior arrangement with the caretakers on duty. Site manager: Centro de Arte Faro Cabo Mayor. . ARLHS SPA-033; ES-01140; Admiralty D1561; NGA 2060.
** La Cerda (La Magdalena, "Faro de la Argolla")
1870. Active; focal plane 24 m (79 ft); five white flashes, in a 1+4 pattern, every 20 s. 9 m (30 ft) square cylindrical masonry tower with lantern and gallery rising from the front of a large 1-story keeper's house complex. Building painted white with unpainted gray stone trim; lantern is gray metallic. Lukáš Vavřík's 2022 photo is at right, Trabas has Siering's closeup, Guyomard and Carceller also have a photo, Wikimedia has several photos, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. The lighthouse is built on the site of the fortress of Santa Cruz de la Cerda, which protected the harbor of Santander in medieval times. The port authority has renovated the lighthouse, and it now serves as the Aula del Mar (Classroom of the Sea), an environmental education facility operated jointly by the Universidad de Cantabria and the Universidad Internacional Menéndez y Pelayo. Located at the eastern tip of the Península de la Magdalena, guarding the west side of the entrance to the Bahía de Santander. The peninsula is a city park that also features the 19th century summer palace of King Alfonso XIII. Accessible by road, but parking is limited. Site and building open, tower status unknown. Site manager: Ciudad de Santander. . ARLHS SPA-170; ES-01160; Admiralty D1556; ex-NGA 2024.

La Cerda Light, Santander, May 2022
Instagram photo by Lukáš Vavřík
Isla Mouro
1860. Active; focal plane 39 m (128 ft); three white flashes every 21 s. 20 m (66 ft) stone tower with lantern and gallery rising from the center of a circular 1-story stone keeper's house; an additional 1-story house is attached. Lighthouse is unpainted stone; lantern is gray metallic. Trabas has Siering's photo, Lighthouse Digest has a photo of the island and lighthouse by José Manuel Sobrao, Wikimedia has several photos, Marinas.com has aerial photos, and Google has a satellite view. This highly exposed lighthouse was a dangerous assignment for keepers; one was drowned by a great wave in 1865. As recently as February 1996 a severe storm swept over the tower and extinguished the light. The original lantern was removed around 1990. In 2003-04, the port authority spent €130,000 restoring the lighthouse, including installation of a new lantern by helicopter in April 2004. Located on a small island in the mouth of the Bahía de Santander. Accessible only by boat, and the island is a restricted nature reserve. Site and tower closed, but there is a good view from the Palacio de la Magdalena in Santander. ARLHS SPA-153; ES-01150; Admiralty D1554; NGA 2020.

Trasmiera District Lighthouses
Cabo de Ajo (2)
1985 (station established 1930). Active; focal plane 71 m (233 ft); white light occulting three times (2 s each) every 16 s. 14 m (46 ft) cylindrical concrete tower with lantern and double gallery, rising from a circular 1-story base. Lighthouse painted white; lantern dome is gray metallic. Roberto Delgado's 2024 photo is at right, Wikimedia has a 2020 photo by Jordi Cantí Vergés, Trabas has Alfonso Biescas Vignau's photo, Wikimedia has several additional photos, a 2007 photo is available, and Google has a satellite view and a distant street view. This handsome modern tower, designed by Fernando Rodríguez Pérez, was one of the first new lighthouses built under the Plan de Señales Marítimas 1985-89. In 2020 the lighthouse was painted in bright colors in an intricate design by the artist Okuda San Miguel; the photo at right shows the results. Located at the northernmost point of the Cantabrian coastline, at the end of the Barrio del Faro (CA 446) about 8 km (5 mi) north of Ajo. Site and tower closed, but the lighthouse can be seen from a distance. . ARLHS SPA-005; ES-01130; Admiralty D1552; NGA 2016.
Punta del Pescador (Santoña)
1864 (rebuilt around 1920). Active; focal plane 39 m (128 ft); four white flashes in a 3+1 pattern every 18 s. 13 m (43 ft) masonry tower attached to a 1-story keeper's house. Entire lighthouse painted white. Trabas has a good photo, Olmo also has a photo, Maria Jose Ruiz has a 2018 closeup photo, and Google has a distant satellite view. This light station has been modified extensively and it is not clear how much remains of the original. The station was rebuilt after being heavily damaged by a storm on February 23, 1915. The keeper's house was apparently replaced by a smaller and more modern structure around 1930. In June 2005 the city of Santoña leased the light as a tourist attraction; the plan was to improve the road to the lighthouse and open the keeper's house for overnight accommodations, but so far this has not occurred. Like Punta del Caballo, the light station is notched into the side of steep mountain, but in this case there is road access. Located on a north-facing headland about 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Santoña and only about 2 km (1.25 mi) northwest of Punta del Caballo. Accessible by hiking the access road about 2.5 km (1.5 mi) from a poorly-marked entrance. There's no parking at the trailhead but parking is available at a beach at the foot of the mountain. Site open, tower closed. . ARLHS SPA-227; ES-01010; Admiralty D1542; NGA 1984.

Cabo de Ajo Light, Ajo, September 2024
Instagram photo by Roberto Delgado
Punta del Caballo
1863. Inactive since the mid 1990s. 8 m (26 ft) cylindrical stone tower with lantern and gallery, originally painted white. The 2-story keeper's house has been demolished. Ixone Ruiz has a 2018 photo, Maitane Galipienso Idigoras has another 2018 photo, Haider Ali Tariq has a 2022 closeup, Wikimedia has a view from below by Raúl Hernández González, and Huelse has a historic postcard view of the lighthouse and keeper's house, but the lighthouse is mostly hidden by trees in Bing's satellite view. Clearly endangered. This lighthouse was built in a notch cut in the side of Monte Buciero, a near-vertical mountainside. 682 steps, a very challenging descent, lead down to the lighthouse. After automation, the isolated lighthouse was repeatedly vandalized. Its deactivation was the result of this problem, the difficulties of the site, and the close proximity of the Faro del Pescador (previous entry). In 2023 there were efforts to clean and partially restore the tower; a July 2024 photo shows the results. Located on an east-facing headland on the north side of the entrance to the Ría de Treto and the harbor of Santoña. André Winter found the site to be accessible by a popular and well-marked (but somewhat vertiginous) hiking trail from the Punta del Pescador. Site open, and it appears that the tower is open. . ARLHS SPA-196; ex-Admiralty D1544.

Costa Oriental (East Coast) District Lighthouses
* Castillo de Santa Ana (Castro-Urdiales)
1853. Active; focal plane 49 m (161 ft); four white flashes every 24 s. 16 m (52 ft) stone tower with lantern and gallery, attached to one corner of a massive stone castle. The upper portion of the tower is painted white; lantern dome is gray metallic. 1-story keeper's house built atop the castle. Fog siren (Morse code "C" (long-short-long-short) every 60 s). A 2022 photo by Andreu Esteras at right, Jesús Romero has a goddo 2007 photo, Trabas has a closeup photo by Siering, Wikimedia has several photos, Jesus Leon has a good photo of the castle and lighthouse, Huelse has a historic postcard view, and Google has a street view and a satellite view. The lighthouse has been renovated several times; the present lantern, at least the third, came from the Adra lighthouse in eastern Andalusia. The fog siren was added in 1953. The castle and the adjacent church of Santa Maria de la Asunción are among the oldest and best known Gothic buildings of the province; they are believed to date from the 13th century. The peninsula on which they stand provides natural shelter for a small harbor used by fishermen for many centuries. Located atop a vertical cliff at the point of the peninsula in Castro-Urdiales. Site open, tower closed. . ARLHS SPA-066; ES-00970; Admiralty D1536; NGA 1964.
* Castro-Urdiales North Breakwater
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); green flash every 3 s. 7 m (23 ft) octagonal stone tower centered on a square 1-story stone equipment room. The lighthouse is unpainted. Trabas has a closeup photo, Jason Burton has a street view, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of the main (north) breakwater of Castro-Urdiales. Accessible by walking the pier. Site open, tower closed. ES-00980; Admiralty D1537; NGA 1972.

Castillo de Santa Ana Light, Castro-Urdiales, July 2022
Instagrams photo by Andreu Esteras

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: East: Basque Country | West: Asturias

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Posted November 18, 2005. Checked and revised September 15, 2024. Lighthouses: 11. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.