The Republic of India (Bhārat in Hindi) is the seventh largest country and second most populous country in the world. It occupies a subcontinent of Asia that projects southward into the North Indian Ocean, separating the Bay of Bengal on the east from the Arabian Sea on the west. Before 1947 it was a patchwork of regions governed as British colonies and semi-independent princely states under British supervision. In 1947 this British Raj was partitioned into the independent states of India and Pakistan. Several French and Portuguese colonies embedded in the territory of India were absorbed in 1950 and 1961, respectively. India is a federal union of 28 states and 8 union territories. This page lists lighthouses of the central western coast of India in the state of Karnataka (known as Mysore from 1956 to 1973). Karnataka faces the Arabian Sea as part of the coast known historically as the Malabar Coast. The Malabar Coast was visited by Arab and sometimes Chinese traders for many centuries and it was the first Indian coast encountered by European explorers. In general, the coastline is low and sandy, but the land rises quickly behind the beaches to the mountains called the Western Ghats. The major lighthouses of India are staffed and by tradition most of them are open to visitors for a short time during the late afternoon every day; inquire locally concerning the times. Hindi and English are official languages in India, with English serving as a lingua franca for the entire nation. The Indian Constitution recognizes another 21 languages, called scheduled languages, and each of the coastal states has its own scheduled language in official use. In Kannada, the official language of Karnataka, the word for a lighthouse is transliterated from English as laiṭ'haus (ಲೈಟ್ಹೌಸ್); dvipa is an island, nadi is a river, and bandaru is a harbor. 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. Coastal lighthouses of Karnataka are maintained by the Goa Directorate. Harbor lighthouses are maintained by the respective port authorities. 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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![]() Mangalore Harbour Light, Mangalore, August 2021 Google Maps photo by Udupi & Dakshina Kannada District |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: South: Kerala | North: Goa
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Posted January 30, 2006. Checked and revised September 27, 2025. Lighthouses: 21. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.