This page lists lighthouses of Tamil Nadu, the state on the east side of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Also included are the Puducherry and Karaikal districts of the Union Territory of Puducherry (formerly called Pondicherry), which is the former French India. The Tamil Nadu coastline, facing the Bay of Bengal, is almost everywhere low and sandy with numerous offshore shoals. Chennai (Madras) is the state capital and largest port but there are many smaller ports. The disastrous tsunami of 26 December 2004 caused great destruction and loss of life on this coast but no lighthouses were destroyed. India was part of the British Empire until 1947 so its lighthouse heritage is British. However, only a fraction of the original British lighthouses remain in use; new towers have been built at most of the stations. India has also built many lighthouses at new locations in recent years. Lighthouses and aids to navigation in India are administered by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL), an agency of the Ministry of Shipping. The lighthouses on this page are maintained by the Chennai Directorate of DGLL. The Tamil word for a lighthouse is kalaṅkarai (கலங்கரை). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume F of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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East Coast (Bay of Bengal) Lighthouses
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![]() Pulicat Light, Pulicat, February 2018 Google Maps photo by Tamil new movies&songs |
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![]() 1836 Pondicherry Light, Puducherry, April 2010 Flickr Creative Commons photo by Aldo de Leeuw (no longer online) |
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![]() Poompuhar Light, Kaveripatnam, December 2015 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Destination8infinity |
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![]() Nagapattinam Light, Nagapattinam Nagapattinam District government photo |
South Coast Lighthouses
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![]() Pandiyan Tivu Light, Thoothukudi, September 2017 Google Maps photo by Muruga Perumal |
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![]() Manapad Point Light, Manapad, May 2008 ex-Panoramio photo copyright Leo Fernando; used by permission |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Andhra Pradesh | South: Sri Lanka | West: Kerala
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted January 20, 2006. Checked and revised May 5, 2020. Lighthouses: 42. Site copyright 2020 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.