Lighthouses of Indonesia: Rote and West Timor

The Republic of Indonesia has been independent since 1945, after having been the Dutch East Indies for more than 350 years. It is a huge country, stretching along both sides of the Equator for more than 46 degrees of longitude (roughly 5100 km or 3200 miles). Comprised of some 17,000 islands (more than 6000 inhabited islands), it has hundreds of major aids to navigation.

The island arc that begins in the west with the major islands of Sumatra and Java continues eastward through a chain of smaller islands known in English as the Lesser Sunda Islands and in Indonesian as the Nusa Tenggara ("Southeastern Islands"). From west to east, the major Lesser Sunda Islands are Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timor.

Indonesia is divided into 38 provinces (provinsi) and the provinces are subdivided into county units called regencies (kabupaten). This page includes lighthouses of Rote and West Timor in East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur) Province. The islands of Rote and Timor are located east of Sumba and southeast of Flores.

More than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia. The official national language, Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), was standardized from a form of Malay that served as a lingua franca across the archipelago. In Indonesian a lighthouse is a mercusuar or a menara suar. Tanjung is a cape, ujung is a headland or point of land, bukit is a hill, sungai is a river, kuala or muara is an estuary or river mouth, pulau is an island, karang is a reef, batu is a rock, laut is a sea, selat is a strait, teluk is a bay, pelabuhan is a harbor, and labuhan is a port. It's also worth knowing that the word for an island is nusa in Balinese and gili in the Sasak language spoken on Lombok and in western Sumbawa.

Aids to navigation in Indonesia are operated and maintained by the Directorate of Marine Navigation within the Directorate General of Sea Transportation.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume Q of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Indonesia - Lesser Sunda Islands
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
World of Lighthouses - Indonesia
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Lighthouses in Indonesia
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.

Tanjung Sikale Light, Rote, October 2019
Google Maps photo by Misbahul Hasan

Rote Lighthouses

Rote Ndao Regency Lighthouses
Rote (Roti) is Indonesia's southernmost major island. Located off the southwestern tip of Timor, the island is about 80 km (50 mi) long and has a population of about 100,000.

Pulau Ndana (Pulau Dana) (1)
2004. Presumably inactive. 30 m (98 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. Julian Saathop's 2024 street view of the two lighthouses is at right and Google has a satellite view. The uninhabited Pulau Dana is Indonesia's southernmost island, making this the country's southernmost lighthouse. This is also regarded as the southernmost point of Asia. Located off the southern tip of Rote. Located on the south side of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed.
Pulau Ndana (Pulau Dana) (2)
Date unknown (recent). Active; listed with focal plane 40 m (131 ft); white flash every 6 s. Approx. 22 m (72 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and two galleries. Sibling of the Tanjung Sikale lighthouse (see below). Julian Saathop's 2024 street view of the two lighthouses is at right. The new lighthouse appears shorter than the old one, so the listed focal plane should be reduced. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1356.8.
Pulau Ndao (Dao) Besar
2004. Active; focal plane 108 m (354 ft); white flash every 10 s. 40 m (131 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. Five coast guard station buildings. No photo available, but Google has a good satellite view. Located on on an island off the western end of Rote. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1356.2.
#Pelabuhan Ndao
Date unknown. Removed. This was an approx. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower with gallery mounted on a concrete platform supported by four massive legs. In Max Makoy's aerial photo the tower is just off the beach to the left of the pier. Google has a satellite view. The tower was in poor condition, and it is missing from a 2024 view of the waterfront. . Located at the base of the pier at the settlement on the north side of Pulau Ndao Besar. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.

New (left) and old Pulau Ndana Lights, Rote Ngao Regency, March 2024
Google Maps street view by Julian Saathop
Tanjung Sikale (Oelaba)
Date unknown (recent). Active; focal plane unknown; white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) octagonal concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Misbahul Hasan has the closeup 2019 photo at the top of this page, Fikry Mancora has a 2022 photo, Jhon Elimanafe has a 2023 photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located in Oelaba, a town on the northwestern coast of Pulau Rote. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1356.1.
Pulau Rote (Pulau Roti, Baa) (2?)
2014 (station established 1903). Active; focal plane 47 m (154 ft); two white flashes every 12 s. 45 m (148 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Batjo Kaluku's 2020 photo is at right, Sonny Saban has a photo, Fendi Ledoh has a 2022 photo, Isnan Wijarno has a 2023 photo, Sandro Ferraz has a view from the nearby pier, and Google has a satellite view of the town. The previous light was on the 14 m (46 ft) iron skeletal tower seen in the right corner of in Kaluku's photo. The old tower will probably be demolished. Located in the port of Baa on the north side of the island. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-243; Admiralty Q1356; NGA 25680.
[Teluk Korobafo East]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); three red flashes, in a 2+1 pattern, every 12 s. 12 m (39 ft) post mounted on a square platform supported by piles. A distant aerial view is available (light in the center) and Google has a satellite view. Teluk Korobafo is a well-sheltered harbor near the north end of Pulau Rote. The aerial view also shows the corresponding green light (Admiralty Q1359.2) on the other side of the entrance. Located on the east side of the entrance to the bay. Admiralty Q1359.3.
Tanjung Pukuafu
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two white flashes every 5.4 s. 13 m (43 ft) square skeletal tower painted white and mounted on a square concrete platform. Bayu Mee has a 2024 photo and a more distant view and Google has a satellite view. Located at the northern tip of Pulau Rote. Admiralty Q1358; NGA 25681.
[Tanjung Okabiki]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); nine quick white flashes every 15 s (?). Approx. 13 m (43 ft) post, painted black with a yellow horizzontal band and mounted on a triangular platform. Sinyo Roombackone has a very distant 2024 view and Bing has a satelllite view. The listed flash pattern is surely incorrect; this is an "east cardinal" light that should display flashes in groups of three, not nine. Located just off the northeastern tip of Pulau Rote. Admiralty Q1357.4.

Baa Light, Rote Ndao, September 2020
ex-Google Maps photo by Batjo Kaluku

West Timor Lighthouses (see also Timor Leste)

Timor is located at the southeastern edge of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Unlike the others it is oriented northeast-southwest. Historically, the eastern 60% of the island was the Portuguese colony of East Timor, with the rest of the island being included in the Dutch East Indies. Indonesian forces occupied East Timor when the Portuguese withdrew in 1975. This led to an extended struggle ending in 2002 with the independence of East Timor as Timor Leste. West Timor, the Indonesian section of the island, has a population of about two million. Roughly half a million live in the provincial capital of Kupang.

Kupang Regency and City Lighthouses
Tanjung Oisina
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); white flash every 4 s. 17 m (56 ft) white concrete post with gallery centered on a square base. Calista Khanza has a distant 2023 view and Google has a good satellite view. Located on the southwestern tip of Timor, guiding vessels in the Rote Strait separating Timor and Rote. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1365.5; NGA 25682.
[Pulau Tabui]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); white flash every 2 s. 10 m (33 ft) white post on a platform supported by piles. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Located at the edge of reef off the extreme southwestern tip of Pulau Semau, an island off the west end of Timor. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1359.5.
Tanjung Kurung (Tanjung Kulun, Pulau Semau)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 127 m (417 ft); white light, 12 s on, 12 s off, 3 s on, 3 s off. 16 m (52 ft) square white skeletal tower with lantern and gallery. Several coast guard station buildings. Sapto Pandugo has a photo of the station and the base of the tower, and Google has a satellite view of the station. This light serves as a landfall light for Kupang, the principal city of West Timor. Located on heights at the northern end of Pulau Semau, about 13 km (8 mi) west northwest of Kupang. Site status unknown. ARLHS IDO-304; DSI-5800; Admiralty Q1360; NGA 25684.
* Hansisi
Around 2021. Active; focal plane about 20 m (66 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 16 m (52 ft) square white skeletal tower. A 2024 photo is available, Muhammad Fernanda Raihan Fadlika has a 2022 photo, and Google has a satellite view. The lighthouse is not seen in a 2020 aerial view of the port. Located at the ferry terminal in Hansisi, at the northeast corner of Pulau Semau opposite Kupang. Site open, tower closed. Not listed by the Admiralty.
* Pelabuhan Tenau (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); white flash every 3 s. 10 m (33 ft) round barbell-shaped white fiberglass tower. Google has the 2022 street view seen at right and a satellite view. The skeletal tower beside the lighthouse is probably an earlier light tower. Tenau is the modern port for Kupang; it faces the narrow Semau Strait between Timor and Semau about 6 km (3.5 mi) southwest of the city. Located on the hillside above the dock area. (The Admiralty's location for Q1365.2 matches this light, but NGA lists it as Q1365.) Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1365.2; NGA 25700.

Pelabuhan Tenau Light, Kupang, December 2022
Google Maps street view
* Tenau (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 90 m (295 ft); white flash every 5 s. The light is mounted somewhere on a very tall communications tower. Google has a street view and Bing has a satellite view. Located atop a hill at the north end of the harbor area. Site and tower closed by easily seen from anywhere in the area. Admiralty Q1365.
#Kupang (Koepang, Fort Concordia) (2)
Date unknown (station established 1883). Inactive since 2020 and apoarently demolished. 13 m (43 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. Wikimedia has a 2004 photo, a sunset 2017 street view is available, Andry Eldian has a 2020 photo showing both the old and new towers, and Google has a distant 2016 street view, but the tower has disappeared from Google's satellite view. The original Dutch lighthouse had a focal plane height of 19 m (62 ft). Located near historic Fort Concordia in Kupang, near the southwestern tip of Timor. Site open, tower closed.
* Kupang (Koepang, Fort Concordia) (3)
2020 (station established 1883). Active; focal plane about 75 m (246 ft); white flash every 5 s. Approx. 60 m (197 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Lantern painted red. Palti Laitera's 2020 photo is at right, Isna Ipank has a closeup photo, Albert Maramis has a 2023 photo, and Google has a 2022 street view and a satellite view. Located in front of the historic lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS IDO-140; Admiralty Q1362; NGA 25688.
Pulau Kera (2)
2019. Active; focal plane about 23 m (75 ft); white flash every 3 s. 20 m (66 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Lantern painted red. Bony Alexander has a May 2019 photo, Amelia Yusitha has a closeup photo, Ahmad Ahsan has a view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view. This lighthouse replaced a 13 m (43 ft) round barbell-shaped white fiberglass tower. Pulau Kera is an island about 8 km (5 mi) north of Kupang. Located on the northwest side of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site probably open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1360.5; NGA 25686.
* Salamu
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 32 m (105 ft); white light, pattern unknown. Approx. 30 m (98 ft) robust octagonal concrete tower with lantern and gallery. A 2020 drone view is available, Isnan Wijarno has a 2023 closeup, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the base of the pier in Salamu, a town across Kupang Bay from Kupang. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1361.2.
* Tanjung Gumuk
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 45 m (148 ft); white flash every 4.5 s. 40 m (131 ft) square tapered skeletal tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. Several coast guard station buildings. Eriko Utama has a beach view and Google has a satellite view of the station. Located at the tip of a promontory facing the Savu Sea about 80 km (50 mi) north of Kupang. Accessible by road. Site status unknown, probably open. Admiralty Q1365.69.

Kupang Light, West Timor, October 2020
ex-Google Maps photo by Palti Laitera
Pulau Batek (Fatu Sinai) (3?)
2018 (?). Active; focal plane 100 m (328 ft); white flash every 6 s. Approx. 40 m (131 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Several coast guard station buildings. Zoelkar Nain has a 2020 closeup photo, Wiyudha Pandu Laksana has a distant view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view of the station. Jafar Shodik has a photo of the earlier lighthouse, a square skeletal tower; although it is dated 2022 it must have been taken several years earlier. Indonesia and Timor Leste have an ongoing dispute over ownership of Pulau Batek, which lies near the border between West Timor and the Timor Leste exclave of Oecussi. Indonesian forces occupied the island in 2004. The island is called Fatu Sinai in Timor Leste. Located in the Savu Sea about 10 km (6 mi) offshore from the northernmost point of West Timor. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown, probably closed (Indonesian military post). Admiralty Q1365.6; NGA 25701.

North Central Timor Regency Lighthouses
These lighthouses are on the north coast of Timor east of the Oecussi exclave. The exclave is 58 km (36 mi) from the rest of Timor Leste.
Wini
2017. Active; focal plane 45 m (148 ft); six quick white flashes every 15 s. 40 m (131 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Several coast guard or border control buildings. Lara Campos has the 2021 photo at right, Rudi Mulyana has a closeup, Putu Adi has a view from atop the tower, and Google has a satellite view of the station. This light marks the eastern border of the Timor Leste exclave of Oecussi. Located in an Indonesian border station about 1.6 km (1 mi) west of Wini. Site status unknown. Admiralty Q1365.73.
#Pelabuhan Wini (1)
Date unknown. Inactive and apparently demolished. This was a 10 m (33 ft) square cylindrical skeletal tower with lantern and gallery, painted white. This tower is at the left in Ayudya Saint's 2016 photo. Wini is a town on the north coast of Timor a short distance east of the Timor Leste exclave of Oecussi. Located near the piers in Wini. Site open, tower closed.
* Pelabuhan Wini (2)
Around 2020. Active; listed with focal plane 14 m (46 ft); white flash every 4 s. Approx. 20 m (66 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Sams Lockhurt has a distant 2020 view showing both lighthouses and Google has a satellite view and a very distant street view. Lantern painted red. The new focal plane would be about 25 m (82 ft). Located near the piers in Wini. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1365.75.
Tanjung Batu Putih (2?)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 20 m (66 ft); white flash every 3.5 s. 16 m (52 ft) skeletal tower, painted white. Mulyo Kong has a photo and Google has a satellite view. This light marks the most prominent cape between the Oecussi enclave and the main portion of Timor Leste. Located on a promontory facing the Ombai Strait about 20 km (12.5 mi) west of Atapupu. Admiralty Q1365.8; NGA 25703.
* Gurita
2007. Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 4 s. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) square white skeletal tower. Popo Gayuh has a distant drone view (lighthouse is in the center) and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located at a ferry terminal at Gurita, a protected harbor about 12 km (7.5 mi) east of Atapupu. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1366.27.
Gurita West
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); green light, pattern unknown. 12 m (39 ft) square skeletal tower painted green and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. This light is centered in Hairil Saleh's photo, it is on the left in Umi Fitriyani's view from the dock, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on the west side of the narrow entrance to Gurita. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1366.28.

Wini Light, Wini, July 2021
Google Maps photo by Lara Campos
Gurita East
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); red light, pattern unknown. 12 m (39 ft) square skeletal tower painted red and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. Mulyo Kong has a photo, this light is at the right in Hairil Saleh's photo and on the right in Umi Fitriyani's view from the dock, and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on the west side of the narrow entrance to Gurita. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1366.26.
* Pelabuhan Atapupu
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 22 m (72 ft); white flash every 3 s. 22 m (72 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. Agoest Dya has a distant view from the sea and Google has a street view and a satellite view. Located next to the customs house on the waterfront of Atapupu, a small port about 10 km (6 mi) west of the Timor Leste border. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1366.3.
#Atapupu Entrance West
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); green flash every 5 s. 14 m (46 ft) square skeletal tower, painted green and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. This light is on the left in Giliat Tapatab's photo and in Google's 2016 street view and at the left edge of Abu Nidal's distant view and Bing has a satellite view but the light has disappeared in Google's 2022 street view. This light and the next two frame the narrow entrance through the reef into the harbor of Atapupu. Located on the west side of the entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1366.2; NGA 25705.
#Teluk Atapupu
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 12 m (39 ft); red flash every 2 s. Approx. 12 m (39 ft) square skeletal tower, painted red and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. This light is in the center in Giliat Tapatab's photo and in Google's 2016 street view and to the right of the west light near the left edge of Abu Nidal's distant view and Bing has a satellite view but the light has disappeared in Google's 2022 street view. Located inside the entrance to the harbor of Atapupu. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1366.1.
Atapupu Entrance East
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); red flash every 6 s. 14 m (46 ft) square skeletal tower, painted red and mounted on a square platform supported by piles. This light is on the right in Giliat Tapatab's photo and Bing has a satellite view. This light and the previous two frame the narrow entrance through the reef into the harbor of Atapupu. Located on the east side of the entrance. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1366.4; NGA 25705.5.
Atapupu (Pelabuhan Pertamina)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 16 m (52 ft); white flash every 4 s. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower painted white. Hidayat Budi Sudarmo has a very distant view from the sea and Google has a satellite view. Located at the Pertamina oil terminal on the north side of Atapupu. Site and tower closed. Admiralty Q1366; NGA 25704.

Malaka Regency Lighthouse
* Tanjung Motamasin
2017. Active; focal plane 45 m (148 ft); six quick white flashes every 15 s. 40 m (131 ft) octagonal white concrete tower with lantern and gallery. Defi Setiawan's photo is at right, Jonet Joko has an August 2017 photo, Markus Laga Nawa has a 2019 closeup, and Google has a satellite view. Despite the name there is no cape here; the lighthouse is meant to mark the international border. Located on the southwest coast of Timor about 600 m (3/8 mi) from the Timor Leste border. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty Q1365.55.

Tanjung Motamasin Light, West Timor, December 2017
ex-Google Plus photo by Defi Setiawan

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Solor and Alor Islands | East: Timor Leste | West: Sumba and Savu

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Posted January 10, 2009. Checked and revised December 4, 2024. Lighthouses: 31. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.