Cape Bojeador Lighthouse

The light was designed in Spain and lit in 1892 to mark the turn of the northwest coast for ships running to Manila. It sits on a bluff, an octagonal brick tower rising from a walled keeper's compound with an arched gallery around a courtyard. The lantern still works, automated now, and the coastguard keeps the site. You climb a stone stair from the car park to the compound, walk the gallery and look down over a long stretch of the coast, with wind turbines on the ridges inland. The brickwork has been restored more than once after earthquakes and typhoons and the results are uneven.

History

The lighthouse was part of the Spanish government's master plan of 1857 to light the coasts of the Philippines, and it was first lit on 30 March 1892 on Vigia de Nagpartian Hill, marking the northwesternmost point of Luzon for ships coming from the north (Wikipedia, Cape Bojeador Lighthouse).

What's there

• The brick tower - octagonal, tapering, with the original lantern housing at the top.
• The keeper's courtyard - an arched gallery around a walled compound below the tower.
• The coastal view - a long open sweep of the northwest coast from the bluff.
• The ridge turbines - the Burgos and Bangui wind farms strung along the hills inland.

When to go

November to April is the dry, windy season; the coast is fully exposed to typhoons between June and October and the road can be cut. Late afternoon gives the best light on the brick and the coolest air. The tower itself is usually closed to climbing, so the visit is the compound and the view.

What to expect

You cannot normally go up the tower, which surprises people who drove an hour for it. The stone stair from the car park is steep in full sun and there is no shade at the top. Restoration work has left patches of new brick and cement that look wrong. It is a twenty-minute stop that only makes sense on a wider Ilocos coastal drive, not a destination.

Nearby

The Bangui wind farm and Kapurpurawan rock formation are close; Pagudpud's beaches are further north.

Key facts