Mahabalipuram Lighthouse

Mahabalipuram Lighthouse
LocationMamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates12°36′55″N 80°11′31″E / 12.615285°N 80.191818°E / 12.615285; 80.191818
Tower
Constructionstone (tower) Edit this on Wikidata
Height26 m (85 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Shapecylinder Edit this on Wikidata
Markingsunpainted (tower), red (dome) Edit this on Wikidata
Power sourcemains electricity Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit1900 Edit this on Wikidata
Focal height42 m (138 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
Lenssecond order Fresnel lens Edit this on Wikidata
Range30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) Edit this on Wikidata
CharacteristicFl W 10s Edit this on Wikidata

Mahabalipuram Lighthouse is located in Tamil Nadu, India.[1] It has been open to tourists since 2011. It was closed in 2001 following a perceived threat from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The first light was commissioned here in 1887 on the roof of the Olakkannesvara Temple. The lighthouse, with a circular masonry tower made of natural stone, became fully functional in 1904. India's oldest lighthouse, built around 640 CE by Pallava king Mahendravarman I stands next to this modern structure. The Pallava era lighthouse is a protected monument, maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.[2]

History

Mahabalipuram Lighthouse stands on a natural rock about 35 km south of Chennai. In May 1887, the British installed the first conventional light, a wick lamp within a fourth‑order optic atop the roof of the Olakkannesvara Temple to guide vessels at night. A dedicated 26 m‑high circular masonry tower of dressed stone was built on a nearby rock in 1900, its unpainted exterior left to blend with the surroundings, and the light was commissioned in March 1901. The original oil‑vapor source was replaced by an incandescent electric lamp in 1994, upgraded to a cluster of three 150 W/230 V metal‑halide lamps in August 2004, and fitted with a 236 W LED array, the first of its kind in the DGLL, in August 2020.[3]

Olakkannesvara Temple

Main article: Olakkannesvara Temple

Mahabalipuram was a busy port under the Pallavas as early as the 7th century CE. Bonfires were lit on rocks even at that time to aid the mariners. The British first used the temple atop the Mahishasuramardini cave as a light. The new lighthouse and the old lighthouse are adjacent to each other.[4]

A granite roof was constructed atop the temple to keep the light from 1887 to 1900.[5]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mahabalipuram Lighthouse.
  1. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of India: Tamil Nadu and Puducherry". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. ^ D, Madhavan. "Mamallapuram light house opens for tourists". The Times of India. 10 March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Mahabalipuram Lighthouse". dgll.nic.in. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
  4. ^ dgll Archived 2013-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Mahabalipuram Lighthouse" (PDF). Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships. 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
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