The Anyer Lighthouse

The lighthouse at Cikoneng, on the coast at Anyer, was built in 1885 to replace the light destroyed when Krakatoa erupted and the sea came ashore two years earlier. It is a slim white tower of cast iron plates bolted together, with a spiral stair winding up inside to the lantern room and a narrow gallery. From the top the view runs across the Sunda Strait to the islands and, on a clear day, to the cone of Anak Krakatau, the volcano that has grown in the caldera left by the eruption. A marker in the compound records the point from which the old post road across Java was measured.

What you actually see

• The iron tower - the bolted white shaft and its spiral stair up to the lantern.
• The strait view - the gallery looking out to the islands and, on clear days, Anak Krakatau.
• The zero marker - the stone recording the start of the old post road across Java.
• The coast road - fishing beaches and dark sand either side of the compound.

When to go

The dry season, May to September, gives the clearest air for the view across the strait, while haze and cloud close it down in the wet months. Mornings are the best bet, before sea haze builds. Weekends bring crowds to the Anyer beaches and the coast road jams badly, so a weekday trip out from Jakarta is far easier.

Honest expectations

Whether you can climb depends on the keeper being present and willing, so the trip can end at the foot of the tower, and a tip is expected if you go up. The stair is narrow, hot and unlit. The Anyer coast is built up with weekend resorts, and the beaches are unremarkable and often littered. Three hours each way from Jakarta is a lot for one tower.

Nearby

The Anyer and Carita beaches run along this coast; boats to the Krakatau islands leave from the same stretch in calm weather.