Located on the north coast of South America, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has a long coastline facing the Caribbean Sea. This page includes lighthouses of the eastern half of that coast, from the La Guaira-Caracas area eastward. The Western Venezuela page includes lighthouses on the remainder of the coast. In addition Venezuela administers a number of islands in a westward extension of the Lesser Antilles chain. The lighthouses of the Isla Margarita and Venezuela's other Caribbean islands are listed on the Venezuela: Caribbean Islands page. Venezuela is a federal republic of 23 states, a capital district, and a federal territory administering the more remote Caribbean islands. The word for a lighthouse is faro in Spanish; smaller lighthouses are often called balizas (beacons). 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. Active lighthouses in Venezuela are owned by the navy and managed by the Oficina Coordinadora de Hidrografía y Navegación (Ochina). Special note: Following the election of President Nicolás Maduro in 2013 economic conditions in Venezuela deteriorated, leading to an outbreak of civil unrest. As of this revision (May 2024) the country is still not safe for tourists and other visitors. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 110.
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![]() Punta Arenas Light, Punta Arenas, August 2010 ex-Panoramio photo copyright afem; permission requested |
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![]() Isla de Patos Light, Bocas del Dragón, November 2012 OCHINA photo |
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![]() Güiria Light, Güiria, November 2010 OCHINA photo |
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![]() Punta Playa Light, Isla Corocoro, November 2023 OCHINA photo |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Venezuelan Caribbean | East: Trinidad and Tobago | Southeast: Guyana | West: Western Venezuela
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index
Posted July 7, 2003. Checked and revised May 28, 2024. Lighthouses: 38. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.