Capones Island Lighthouse

Capones is a long, rocky island off Pundaquit in Zambales, and at its western tip stands Faro de Punta Capones, a lighthouse completed in the 1890s as part of the Spanish programme to mark the approaches to Manila Bay. The keepers' quarters are roofless and hollow now, the plaster gone from the brick, and the tower carries a modern solar light; the ruin, the sea on three sides and the view back to the Zambales mountains are the reason people make the crossing. Getting there means a boat from Pundaquit and then a walk of fifteen or twenty minutes up from the landing over rock and through scrub in full sun. Trips usually combine Capones with the beach at neighbouring Camara Island and sometimes with Anawangin or Nagsasa coves along the mainland shore, which are the other Pundaquit staples. Sea conditions decide everything - the landing is on open rock, not sand.

What you actually see

• The ruined light - the 1890s tower and hollow quarters.
• The rock landing - the scramble up from the boat.
• The open sea - water on three sides of the point.
• The Zambales range - the mainland mountains across the water.

When to go

November to May for calm crossings; the habagat months make the landing dangerous. Early morning for cooler walking - there is no shade at all.

Honest expectations

The landing is on rock and can be rough or impossible in swell. The walk up is exposed, hot and unmarked in places. The ruin is unfenced and unstable - it is a shell, not a maintained site.

Nearby

Camara Island is minutes away; Anawangin and Nagsasa coves are along the same coast from Pundaquit.